There's Something About Molly
by DarthKader
Summary: First FanFic. Eventual Sherlolly. Molly's past and present collide when she meets someone from her past that she never thought she would see again. Prologue takes place right before Sherlock returns from The Fall. Spoilers for Season 3!
1. Prologue

**Hi. This is my first fan fiction so please be take that into consideration when you read this. I like Sherlolly (understatement). I enjoy many of the writers in this section and felt like a troll reading and never giving back. Thank you for those whose work I have read and now that I finally signed up I will definitely give my feedback and show my appreciation, sorry it has taken me so long. One more thing to keep in mind if you read this, I am an American so there may be things that are not correct. Constructive criticism is welcome. It's been a long time since I've written anything and I'm a bit nervous. Thank you for your patience.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! **

_Synopsis: There is something about Molly. Her past starts to collide with her present when she meets someone she never thought she would see again. Prologue happens before Sherlock returns from The Fall. _

Prologue

Molly was just starting her last autopsy of the day. Ever since Sherlock had gone off for places unknown to her the job she had come to enjoy became only a monotonous necessity. As she picked up her scalpel to make her first incision she heard the door to the morgue open. She sighed and replaced her tool to its original place. She looked up to see her visitor.

"Hi are you Dr. Molly Hooper?"

The woman who had come in was a pretty sort with a playful smile. Her blond locks were cut off in a bob. She had the look of someone who was laid back but could stand her ground. Molly's eyes slanted in distrust as she saw the woman before her and her heart started beating faster against her own desire for calm.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Molly winced at how harsh her voice sounded. Why couldn't she be calmer like…well it didn't matter. She wasn't Sherlock and could never be someone who craved action. She preferred the quiet of her morgue, if she could help the police at times that was great, though they rarely called on her services now due to her past involvement in helping with Sherlock's cases. She had expected it and still respected those who fought for justice especially against murderers. She also had more than respect where Sherlock was concerned but he had been gone two years and yet he plagued her mind on a daily basis.

The blond was taken back for a second, "I'm sorry did I come at a bad time…should I come back later?"

"Well, no time is really going to great for this is it?," was the only reply the woman received from the petite pathologist.

"I am sorry to have disturbed you. You're not quite how John described you." The woman had a confused and concerned look on her face.

"John?"

"Surely you know John Watson. He said you had forgotten his name early in your acquaintance but surely you know him now?" The woman smirked good-naturedly at Molly.

"Of course I know John! What do _you_ want with him?" Dr. Molly Hooper had grabbed the scalpel that had still been at hand.

The blond took in the situation and while confused decided the easiest way to diffuse the situation is to explain and introduce herself. "My name is Mary Morstan and I am currently dating John." She smirked as she thought about her John and how jittery he seemed to be around her at present. "Actually, I think he is getting up the nerve to ask me to marry him. I thought it might be a good idea to get to know some of his friends…"

"We weren't exactly friends. I worked with him and Sherlock on cases from time to time. That is all." Molly could feel adrenaline pumping through her ears. Why wouldn't this woman just say why she really came? She wished she would just make her threats out in the open. If she did so she could signal her protection detail, she wouldn't alert anyone until then. Mycroft had made her life difficult enough as it was, it was all she could do to make sure he didn't bug her bloody morgue.

Mary looked mystified. "I just wanted to know more about John and Sherlock…"

Molly had reached her end, she slammed her free hand down beside the body she was supposed to be cutting open. "Of course you do. That's all anyone ever wants. Sherlock is dead! Leave me alone! And leave John alone! He doesn't need anymore heartbreak!"

The blond was taken aback by the younger woman's outburst. This wasn't what she expected from John's description but obviously the past couple of years had taken a toll on this woman the same as it had on her lover. Mary pursed her lips and leveled her eyes to look into Molly's before she spoke again. She could handle high stress situations and she would handle this situation with her natural finesse she used to use in the field. She took a deep breath. "I am sorry for your loss, truly I am." She held up her hand before the pathologist could interrupt once more. "I don't know what you have been through but I am here out of concern and love for John. Nothing more, nothing less."

Molly tightened her grip even further on her scalpel. She glared at the intruder refusing to believe her at her words. Molly's character was one of incredible faithfulness. It was out of her loyalty to Sherlock she felt the need to protect his best friend from the creature in front of her. "You don't know what I've been through but I happen to know something."

Mary shifted her stance as she took in the body language of the tense young woman who stood before her. "And what's that?"

"You're name isn't really Mary."


	2. Chapter 1

**Thank you so much to those who have chosen to follow me. Please hang in there with me, and if you have any questions of where this is going please feel free to ask.**

**Chapter 1**

"So, with Sherlock back I guess this means the honeymoon's over?" Tom commented to his "fiancée" as she walked into her flat with unconcealed joy in her steps.

She grinned broadly and a light lit up her eyes that Tom had not had the opportunity to witness before. "Mycroft already let you know you're relieved of your duties? I can back to the privacy of my life now?" She continued smiling from ear to ear a genuine smile which was quite unlike her awkward side grins that she was known to give. Though her words told of happiness of being released from an overbearing amount of security anyone who knew Molly knew the real reason for her joy.

"You wound me! Here I am taking care of you like a gentleman and you can't wait to get rid of me!" Tom teased back. "But seriously, while I know where I stand in your affections I can't leave just yet. Mycroft hasn't pulled me off detail. He informed me of Sherlock's return but we are going to wait to make sure there is no backlash from his return."

Molly's eyebrows rose to her hairline, she stamped her foot down in the face of hearing how one of the Holmes brothers was again manipulating her life. "Isn't this all a bit excessive. I don't even count!"

"Even so here I am and here I'll stay until Mr. Holmes gives the all clear."

"Hey, you just agreed that I am not important!"

"I was just agreeing with the missus. I heard that's the best way to go about things." Tom had an easy air about him. He was not like Sherlock in the least aside from his height. Tom's personality was easy-going and friendly whereas Sherlock could be downright rude and callous. While most of the time Molly found Tom charming sometimes his easy-going nature got to her. Mycroft probably assumed from the cheerfulness she often exhibited that she would be best paired off with someone equally cheerful to watch over her.

"While I don't understand it at least one good thing comes out of this arrangement."

"What's that?"

"I won't have to look for a date for John and Mary's wedding."

"He finally proposed then?"

"I'm not sure. But once he does they won't wait long to get married I should think."

"Oh yeah and Molly?"

"Hmm?"

"Sherlock doesn't know about your security detail so Mycroft would appreciate it if you didn't mention it to him."

Molly looked at Tom with wide eyes her next sentence coming out in a sputter, "Of all the ridiculous…what on…I don't even know how to respond to that! Mycroft bloody Holmes told me that it was-"

"Sherlock's idea to keep an eye on you but not to the lengths which Mr. Holmes took upon himself. He would hate for his brother think that there was any level of sentiment involved in his handling of this situation."

"Have you ever met the man? Sherlock will know within a moment what you are, so what's the point!"

"So, you'll have no need to tell him. Also it sounds like a great opportunity to work on my undercover skills. I bet I can keep him distracted from my real purpose of being around you."

"And how are you going to do that?"

Tom gave her a wink in the style of the man she adored. "You'll see."


	3. Chapter 2

**Thank you to everyone who is reading, following, and reviewing. I really appreciate it! I am not meaning to confuse anyone with the story line. There is a lot of plot and a lot of twists along the way. I realize this story has a lot of back story and there will be flashbacks throughout. The prologue was written with the mindset that there would be questions that would be answered throughout the story. I am trying to be careful not to give either too much or too little information. Remember this is a first for me. At the moment the story is following Season 3 as closely as possible and I am adding missing scenes with mentions of what happened in the series. Let me know if there are holes or confusion. Some of the confusion may be cleared up in due time. I will update as often as I can but it probably won't be everyday. Thank you for your patience! I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I owned nothing in the last chapter and I own nothing now.**

**Chapter 2**

Molly nervously bit at her lip as she waited for Tom. She had been tempted to call earlier in the day and tell everyone she was sick but the world's only consulting detective would see right through that. She was better off just getting it all out in the open. Molly Hooper was indeed single and the only engagement she had was one that was feigned with Mycroft's provided security. The hope had been that the first and last time they would see Tom would be at the Watson wedding. That was the plan! They would go to the wedding, Sherlock would be his regularly charming self by bringing the truth to light, and Molly would be off the hook and back to her regular life of being harassed by the younger Holmes and not the elder, and all would be right with the world. Now she was waiting at Speedy's near 221B Baker Street for her "fiancé" so that she can introduce him to Sherlock's nearest and dearest. It didn't help that, just days ago, she was running around with the detective on a case. The memory would be imprinted on her heart, mostly because Sherlock's words about being herself (though the memory of the kiss helped too). Sherlock unfortunately mistook her reasoning for being unable to assist on further cases. He assumed it was because of the cursed ring on her finger but in her mind she knew the one standing beside Sherlock on his cases could only be John Watson. In her earliest acquaintance with the army doctor she couldn't help but to feel jealous but she grew to respect and admire him. He was good for Sherlock as everyone in his social circle could attest to.

At the end of their shared adventure she had babbled her way through an explanation of Tom and wondered how Sherlock didn't call her out on the obvious nonsense she spouted out. She went along with Tom's scheme so far only because of a promise of lightened security and the promise that once the Watson wedding was completed without incident that it would be safe enough to "call off her own wedding."

Molly placed her fingers on her cheek as she remembered the sweet kiss she had received. It had almost felt as if it was a goodbye kiss, which of course saddened her. She was delighted and surprised to be invited to celebrate the latest victory and reconciliation of the Baker Street Duo. Her delight was now dread as she looked once more at her watch and wondered what her guard was up to. What was the point of him even being around? She could be pulled from the street right now and he was nowhere in sight.

After about five minutes of waiting she felt a tap on her back. Molly jumped, "Don't sneak up on me…what in the world are you wearing?" She took Tom's form in and looked at the transformation.

"Don't you like it? It's all the rage on Baker Street I hear." Tom replied with a grin obviously looking quite pleased with himself.

"This is why you wanted to meet me here. So I wouldn't be able to stop you from making me feel like a complete idiot."

Tom's grin faltered, "I'm just trying to distract him and if he thinks that-"

"-I'm dating you only because you resemble him he won't look deeper because his ego won't allow it," Molly interrupted him, her lips forming a tight line as she finished speaking.

Tom looked slightly abashed, "Not good?"

Molly threw up her arms in disgust and brought them down to hide her face in her hands. "Oh my gosh, this is unbelievable! You even have to sound like him now?" She started taking deep breaths her hands shifting so that one hand was pinching the bridge of her nose between her forefinger and thumb. This wasn't like the Tom she had gotten to know. Something in the Holmes brothers must have brought the need to compete out in others. So why did she often get caught in the cross hairs? At least this time her choice in companions had not been her own.

Seeing no other choice to go through with this façade, now that Sherlock had undoubtedly seen Tom arrive, and there was no getting away from the inevitable she took one last deep breath, placed a smile on her face, and held out her hand.

Tom looked had the grace to look slightly nervous to take her hand in his and followed her lead to the door. He leaned down to talk softly in her ear as she knocked on the door, "So are we good?"

Sometimes Molly really felt the urge to stab him with something.

Molly wasn't the only one nervous for this meeting. While Mary Morstan gave off the air of being happy and laid-back she wondered what this day would hold. It would indeed be the first time for Sherlock, John, Molly, and herself to be in the same room together. Granted there would be other people but the young pathologist was not an element that Mary had taken in to account when she fell in love with John. How could she have? It was just as much a shock to Ms. Morstan as it was Dr. Hooper to meet like they had. Mary thought that she herself had more of a right to shock as she had not even recognized Molly for who she was, granted the last time she saw Molly the girl was ten and as high as a kite for no fault of her own.

_The day that Mary met Molly: Bart's Morgue_

_"You're name really isn't Mary."_

_Mary was taken aback by the woman who was grasping on to a scalpel as if her life depended on it and had just spoken aloud the secret that she had wanted to take to her grave. The younger woman's words ricocheted inside her mind as she tried to come to terms with what she heard. Mary looked at Molly to confirm her suspicions because honestly there could only have been one person to be able to claim that she was not Mary with such strong _personal _conviction. The woman before her had a slight frame, reddish brown hair, and deep brown eyes. She resembled the girl that Mary was now sure that she once was. Mary did not like to be surprised and as far as surprises went this one was off the Richter scale._

Mary really couldn't blame Molly for her mistrust, yes Mary had saved her life, but she had formally been part of the organization that had destroyed the little girl's life. "Molly" had been collateral damage as it was her mother that Division was truly interested in. They could not very well return such a witness and the deaths of both Molly and her mother had already been staged and recorded. The rogue government group decided to try to turn the little girl into an asset and had started using drugs as a way of control. This was of course after they had killed her mother due to her lack of cooperation.

Mary had been aware of the corrupt status of the group she worked with. Most of the people who had joined Division had done so out of coercion in the first place. It presented itself as hope for young people who had become addicted to different substances and subsequently made abominable choices. Their deaths were then faked by the organization and the young people were given a choice of second life as an agent or an end to their existence. They were told of how in their second life they could live for the noble cause of protecting and serving their country, however, not everyone was privy to the details of the sordid organization.

Mary was smart. She understood how Division was run but she also had a drive to stay alive. Molly was different. Instead of getting Molly off drugs so that they could use her in their schemes they instilled an addiction. The girl had become nothing more than an experiment for them. They of course lied and told her that she was sick and she needed medicine. They had told her many lies. Her father had been military and she hero-worshipped the man so it was easy to foster a drive to serve her country just like her father had. Mary had been mostly in the field during the three years Molly had been cornered away at the headquarters. Once Mary had discovered the crimes against the child she couldn't sit back and do nothing.

Fortunately, Mary had enough friends in her former life with whose help she managed to disappear. Staying in America was not an option. Putting distance between herself and the girl was the best chance for either of them and Mary tried to drive home as many lessons of not telling anyone the truth as she could in the short amount of time they had together. She also told the girl to hold off on talking as long as possible so that she could get a hang of the accent. Mary tried her hardest to get the message across that her life depended on secrecy, hoping that message would get through in the child's lucid states. After giving her one last dose of drugs her body craved so that she would be accepted without question Mary dropped her at a hospital with a reputable rehab center. One of her past connections made an anonymous donation to cover the costs. Mary feeling she had done the most she could do for the brown-eyed child left to start a new life for herself.

Molly had changed Mary's life once, and she also had the power to do so again. Mary had somehow managed to convince Molly of the sincerity of her feelings for John. It helped that Mary had indeed rescued her and given her a second chance at life, even if it was a hand's off approach. The end of their conversation in the morgue had ended with Molly telling her that she could hide Mary's body if she found out that John was being used in anyway. While Mary found that the statement was probably true, she didn't want to point out to the woman who had held her scalpel the entire meeting that she probably didn't have the wherewithal to kill her in the first place.

Molly and Tom eventually made their way into 221 B where they were met with the expected reactions. When Greg tried to get a conversation started with Molly she decided to go for broke and say the most asinine thing she could think of, "I've moved on."

**So there is mention of an organization called Division. This is from a TV show called Nikita. There is no need to know this show. I do not count this as a cross over and will explain more of it as needed. I promise Sherlock will show up soon! Thank you for reading. **


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

"You can't put Tom at the back table of the reception Sherlock." Mary grinned at the antics of the grown man-child while wondering if he knew how transparent he was being.

"I don't see why not. He's not one of your friends. Honestly I don't understand why he's coming at all."

"Because Sherlock, he's the man Molly is going to marry and therefore is her date to the wedding. And Molly _is_ our friend, " the bemused doctor answered his best friend. John didn't know if he should be amused or concerned about the behavior Sherlock had been exhiniting while they planned out the wedding.

"Wrong."

"About Molly being our friend?" John looked up from his phone with his brows knit together.

"Well…now that you mention it you aren't the closest of friends. You see Molly when we are on cases, and Mary only met her fairly recently. However, I was actually referring to your statement that Tim is the man Molly is going to marry. She will never go through with it." Sherlock spoke with his usual air of superiority and disdain.

Mary was glad Sherlock had his back to them at the time of the last statement. He was too busy looking at the details of the wedding plans that were hung up on his wall to notice the small tell she sure she had when Sherlock commented on her acquaintance with Molly. She was extremely relieved that Molly said nothing and made no move to expose her for what she was, or rather, used to be. That life was behind her and so far Molly had done nothing more to bring it back to the forefront of her mind except for her threat if she was to betray John. Since Mary had no intention of hurting the man she loved she just had to hope that Molly believed her sincerity. Honestly, the best threat Molly had was to threaten to expose Mary for what she had been. The threat on her life, while being hard to believe, was not what frightened Mary most in the world. Losing John _was_. Fortunately Molly was not a malicious person by nature.

The doctor rose to Molly's defense, "Don't you mess this up for her Sherlock! And it's Tom as you bloody well know!"

"John there is nothing to mess up. You saw how he was dressed that day." Sherlock smirked at the memory.

John cringed for the poor pathologist, "Yeah, but…"

"But nothing John," the detective interrupted, "if that in itself was not enough proof that their relationship is doomed there is other evidence to back up my deductions as well."

"Such as?"

"Molly acts as nothing has changed. She never mentions him for good or for ill. She has not changed her mode of dress for him."

Mary stopped him at that point; "She could just be comfortable with her relationship and herself. If she doesn't see a need to change for him it is good thing."

"The _relationship," _he sneered, "is not a good thing. She'll get bored Mary!" Sherlock said this as if it was the worst thing in the world.

"Why do you care if Molly is bored or not? If she's bored she will still help you with your bloody experiments." John replied to his friend's indignation at a fate worse than death.

"Thank you John. Another piece of evidence is that Molly still helps me with all my experiments and doesn't try to get out of it. She doesn't want to run off at the end of the day to _Tim _and instead is quite content to stay to assist me." Sherlock practically gloated as he shared his observations.

"You aren't sabotaging that poor girl's relationship by keeping her at the morgue all hours are you?" John was getting more suspicious as the conversation went on. Mary on the other hand was trying not to laugh as the two men quarreled. She couldn't decide which one was funnier, John trying to defend Molly's doomed relationship or Sherlock who was a bit _too _keen about it failing.

"I told you she is quite content to do so. She also never brings Tim to the morgue."

"And why wouldn't she do that I wonder! It couldn't be that she is trying to keep you apart so you won't rip the man to shreds as you have done to every man she has _ever_ brought into the morgue." John was now getting worked up so much that he had stood up from his designated seat and was ready to get in Sherlock's face. Not that it would be easy to do so with the height difference.

Mary turned to her husband-to-be with a smile and shook her head while trying not to burst out laughing, "Oh, John." She ended up letting a few giggles slide. She loved her dear man but didn't understand how he couldn't see what was right in front of him. His best friend had feelings for the pathologist. How deep they ran had yet to be seen but he obviously kept the young woman single for selfish reasons that went beyond the procuring of body parts.

Sherlock whipped around to face John, "She is not interested in dating in reality. Molly brings those imbeciles in the morgue to meet me so I will do what she can't. She knows I will rip them into shreds as soon as I see them. She is not so kind as you give her credit for or she would learn to say no herself. I _help _her." With that the detective redirected his attention to the wall covered with wedding details to escape further discussion on the topic.

Both John and Mary's eyes shot to each other at his vehement outpouring of words on the situation. They were unsure what to make of them exactly and the look that passed between them meant they would discuss it later.

John couldn't resist one last comment to try and prove the point that no one in the room shared, "Then why hasn't she brought him to see you in the morgue Sherlock?"

"We need to work on your half of the church Mary. It's looking a bit thin."

It wasn't until the boys left that Mary realized she had to again resituate Tom into the seat beside Molly on the seating plan. "Oh Sherlock, looks like folding napkins wasn't the only thing you did when we left the room. What are we going to do with you?" She pondered this aloud as she gave a small half smile and shook her head in affection for the man-child.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**I promise this is going somewhere. This was a harder chapter to write. I blame Mycroft. I always blame Mycroft. This is story does not have a beta. If you see any horrifying mistakes or something that is awful please let me know. Thank you for your help in this way. Thank you for reading and following! I appreciate and hope you continue to enjoy the story. I can't wait till it gets to the good parts!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing I just play on the playground.**

Should she or should she not? That was the dilemma Dr. Molly Hooper now faced. On way hand she felt like to do so would betray Sherlock's trust. On the other she already was. She questioned whether or not that was really her fault though as she took another sip of her wine. It really _was _Mycroft's fault, wasn't it? Things were getting a bit fuzzy in her head.

She was not a drunk like Sherlock insinuated she was yet, she did have a drink from time to time. She knew she had to be careful with her history and made sure she wasn't self-medicating. Tonight was one of the nights that she allowed herself the luxury. He _had_ wanted the practical experience after all, so here she was at her flat drinking her wine and finishing Sherlock and John's drinking profiles. At least she would have been if she could figure out how she should finish them.

Besides having thoughts on the chemistry work before her she thought of both the men who had been manipulating her life too much as of late. Sherlock she expected it of and was able to handle. What she was finding harder to handle was having Mycroft Holmes invade her life as if he had the right to! To say Molly was beyond irritated with the Holmes men at the moment would be a gross understatement. She couldn't figure out who she was more frustrated with and wondered how she got in such a predicament.

Sherlock was steadily growing a list of wrongs, so much so that some day soon he may finally incur the wrath of the petite woman. He had known her for years, probably even longer than he even remembered. She suspected their earlier acquaintance had been deleted from his hard drive as inconsequential all though it had a deep and lasting impact on her life. She knew that he knew she brought men to her morgue for him to tear to shreds so they would break up and she could get on with her life. She didn't know how to say no and had no interest in dating, though for different reasons than Sherlock. Alone is what kept others safe. She knew Sherlock didn't care like other people did but he also picked up on things and often said or acted out on what he saw. How he could possibly think so little of her to think that the Tom farce held any validity was beyond her. Molly did not know what was going on in that genius brain of his and decided to just let it be for now.

So Molly and Sherlock continued their dance of working together mostly in a silence that once was comfortable but now had questions hanging in the air. Molly had been patient knowing Sherlock would need time to adjust to all the changes around him. She continued fetching him coffee, body parts, and assisting in the lab. She knew he didn't like small talk but after months of him not saying _anything_ on the topic of Tom she was about to snap.

Earlier that day in the morgue she was taken aback by the sudden interest. Wait no, that wasn't true. It was not interest but a way to manipulate her to get what he wanted. Either way she was finally able to say the line she had planned for months. She thought he would finally be able to see the lie for what it was! She took great pleasure in his discomfort as she boldly told him that she and Tom were having quite a lot of sex. There were no forthcoming comments from him, however, and she was left with the responsibility of calculating ideal alcohol intakes that Sherlock could have done himself.

Molly felt guilty about being mad at Sherlock. Mycroft did know his brother inside out and knew he would overlook his pathologist when he had no need of her. So she did not fault him for not knowing what Mycroft was doing. Molly only went along with the crazy scheme because of her concern for Sherlock's safety. At least that was how the situation was presented to her the day Sherlock met Tom. She had reached her limits that day and insisted on speaking to Mycroft. When Tom realized she was about to turn the cab around and go straight back up the stairs to 221 B Baker Street he knew he had no other choice but to let her speak to his boss if he was going to carry out his mission of keeping Sherlock safe.

_"Ah, Ms. Hooper I have to confess I am surprised you wanted to see me, I was under the impression you didn't want anything to do with me. Should I be flattered by this visit?" Mycroft delivered his words with eyebrows lifted high while looking down his nose at Molly._

_"It's doctor as you are well aware."_

_"I never thought you would be so much trouble, you never give my brother this much trouble."_

_"Your brother is my friend."_

_Mycroft bit back the retort that Sherlock was not her friend because, loath as he was to admit it, Mycroft needed her at the moment. "Yes, well, that's all very well and good but when you are friends with Sherlock Holmes there are certain dangers that come with that." He delivered his last speech with his eyebrows pinched together as if to indicate the seriousness of the matter._

_"Sherlock is back. Any need for security detail around me is highly unnecessary and quite unbelievable." Molly was able to maintain a steady voice. She did not like Mycroft and wanted to make it as hard as possible for him to read her. Yes she was biased on her opinions due to her friendship with Sherlock but it was more than that. _

_ Mycroft was a representation of government and government was what destroyed her childhood. So in her eyes government and those who worked for government could not possibly be trusted. She had allowed the British government to follow her around for two years and now her nerves were fried. The only reason she allowed it in the first place was because of how much she cared about Sherlock. Now not only was she being followed by the British government, but someone who had worked for the last government she had lived under had made a reappearance. Molly was currently doing a tightrope act with her sanity and it wasn't exactly as if she could go for counseling for help. _

_"You can rest assured that Tom's focus no longer rests solely on protecting you. I am concerned for my brother and as such I want to insure one of my men is at the Watson wedding. Since you are already seemingly engaged to Tom this makes it a lot easier to accomplish with out drawing too much attention from the happy couple and the best man. You have to agree it's and elegant solution." Mycroft smiled as if his brilliance was enough to light up the whole of England with no need for electricity._

_Molly pursed her lips together so that they were non-existent and took a huge breath through her nose. After a couple of moments she took a breath to steady herself. "So, I am supposed to act engaged for the months to come while Mary and John plan their wedding? Meanwhile lying to Sherlock who may have been thrown off track today but will not be so easy to convince in the future, just so one of your men can go to the wedding?" She delivered her short speech with such a deadly calm that it had surprised the government man that it had come from the mousy pathologists mouth._

_"A wedding is a perfect place for a murder. The Watson wedding would be an ideal place for any hidden enemies to make a sudden appearance. You did say it was a good thing for you not to have to look for a date did you not?" Mycroft once again looked very pleased with himself._

_"I hate feeling like I'm lying to him and betraying his trust." She shook her head at disgust. "Why can't you just be honest with him?"_

_"That is not how our relationship works Ms. Hooper."_

_She glared at him as he misused her title once again, "And your brotherly relationship works so well." Her sarcastic bite was reminiscent of his younger brother._

_"Will you agree to do it…for Sherlock?"_

_Molly looked away from Mycroft and started chewing on her thumbnail. After a full two minutes she responded. "It's not like I have too much of a choice, but I have some conditions."_

_"How cute conditions. How much will it be Ms. Hooper or would you like to just keep the ring as payment."_

_Molly looked at him in confusion until his meaning became clear. "That is not what I meant and you know it. Now are you going to listen or keep bating me?"_

_They looked at each other in a battle of wills. Mycroft wondered if Sherlock knew this side of his pathologist while Molly wondered what kind of danger Mycroft was really concerned about. Finally Mycroft nodded his head for her to continue, as he could not waste any more time with what he perceived as her silliness._

_"I will continue to wear the ring. I will act as if I am engaged and will answer questions as if I am. If Sherlock figures it out I get to come clean and tell him everything. But the next time I see Tom is when he picks me up for the wedding. I don't want to see any more black cars. And I certainly don't want a repeat of the alley incident, as I am sure none of your agents do either. A scalpel may be small but it still stings if applied to a still living body. After the wedding the engagement is of course over."_

_Mycroft sighed and decided to give in to the pathologist. Overall he was getting what he wanted and despite his brother's fondness for his goldfish he doubted he would pay to close to the details in this situation._

Molly sat awhile on her couch lost in thought. She went to pour herself one last glass of wine. Her eyes widened as she realized the bottle was empty. She had not drunk so much in years, even when Sherlock had to leave. The Holmes brothers were driving her to drink. For some reason that thought seems a little funny so she giggled. Should she or shouldn't she? That wasn't really the question. She knew that she shouldn't. She decided that she would do it anyway. She closed the file on her computer with the proper calculations without saving and instead saved the other file. Those calculations wouldn't allow them to get sick and ruin the wedding but they wouldn't be able to make it to all the bars on Sherlock's list. As long as John didn't do something stupid like add shots to their drinks they wouldn't get into too much trouble during stag night right?


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Mycroft was right about the Watson wedding being a good place for a murder. The murder that had occurred, however, did not warrant his sense of alarm. Molly could only suppose that what had happened was not the possibility that had gotten him in a dither over his brother's safety. She had started to suspect that she shouldn't have trusted Mary after all. Mary had not shown any untoward behavior in regards to either John or Sherlock to date but Molly was not one to trust easily. Mary seemed to really care for John and he deserved to be loved and be happy, she didn't want to be the one to ruin it especially if there was no reason to do so. Molly also had a sense of obligation toward the smiling blond woman who was attempting to teach her newly minted husband how to dance.

Currently Molly was dancing with Tom and Mrs. Hudson to keep up appearances but a lone figure scanning the crowd caught her attention. She watched as Sherlock made his way out the door. Her heart ached for him, as she knew this was a huge change for him. She looked back to one of her partners and gave him a small smile. Despite wanting to chase after the man leaving she decided to finish out the song before attempting to follow.

Tom could sense Molly's desire to leave and saw her eyes follow the best man out the door. He may not have been as smart as Sherlock but it didn't take a genius to figure out her thoughts. He leaned towards Molly and spoke in her ear, "No hurry but it seems like you want to leave."

Molly grinned, "Must be obvious for you to have caught on correctly. I think that's the first time today."

"Dr. Hooper, I may just have to break off our engagement over such a statement."

Tom held out his arm to Molly and together they made their way towards the hallway. Once there they parted as Tom told her to wait while he grabbed the car.

"You're leaving early too?" A familiar voice sounded behind Molly.

"Yeah," Molly replied, "I'm not so much for big parties." She gave her little half smile before pursing her lips. "Umm…the wedding ceremony was lovely and the reception was…" here Molly paused and brought her eyebrows together as she searched for the correct adjective.

"Entertaining? Interesting? Unexpected?" Mary tried to supply some appropriate words.

"Well not so unexpected for John and Sherlock." She grinned a bit wider. "Actually it seemed fairly low key."

Mary laughed loudly. Despite Molly's misgivings about Mary she did like how she laughed openly and genuinely enjoyed Mary's quirkiness. She just hoped that what she observed in their limited interactions was real.

After Mary settled down she looked at Mary with seriousness in her eyes, "Thank you for coming."

"Of course," was the polite response Molly gave as she looked down at her brightly colored shoes.

Mary observed the young woman in front of her. She didn't know what kind of life she imagined for the little girl she had saved. In all honesty she hadn't thought past too much past rescuing from her prison and delivery her to a place where she could get some help. No one thought to look overseas for a ten-year-old girl on her own. Likewise, the British rehab center certainly didn't look for any ties to the girl outside of the surrounding area. Mary hated the loneliness she could sense coming off Molly in waves and couldn't help but feel a sense of responsibility and longed to reach out to the woman before her.

Mary licked her lips lightly before speaking. "Perhaps you could come by and have a cup of tea sometime."

A myriad of emotions passed over the pathologists face. Shock, incredulity, and confusion were a few of the emotions that flitted across her face. "I came to your wedding but that doesn't mean we are friends that get tea together."

"It was just an idea and now that we will be in each other's lives I thought-"

"In each other's lives? And how do you figure that exactly? I work with Sherlock and John on occasion that hardly qualifies as in each other's lives." There was an awkward pause and then Molly felt bad about her outburst. "I'm sorry. Please go enjoy your reception. Someone will be looking for you soon and I'm sure my ride is waiting by now."

"I'm sure your right, Molly. If you ever change your mind…" Mary let the offer trail off.

"Congratulations Mary, please take care of him." With the last comment Molly made her way toward the door.

Most of the ride back to Molly's flat was in silence with Molly spending the time thinking back over the events of the day. Finally she couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Meat dagger?"

"Well, what was I supposed to say? I thought it was a bit clev-" the word died on Tom's lips as he looked away from the road toward Molly. "Okay not so clever but it was creative." He gave her a lopsided smile.

"So creative, I think I'll use it in a kids book." Molly said shaking her head.

"Hmm…that little Archie fellow might like that kind of thing."

Molly looked out the window and smiled, she hadn't missed the hug the little boy had bestowed upon the consulting detective. She was afraid to ask what Sherlock had done to get such a response but she was almost certain that it could not possibly have been something any mother would approve of.

"By the way Molly. You owe me an apology."

"How do you figure?"

"I may have to get a tetanus shot after you stabbed me."

Molly rolled her eyes and looked at Tom, "It was plastic and I should hope with your job that you would be up to date on your shots. Besides you were there to protect Sherlock and you couldn't even pick up on his cues that something was amiss. How would you have protected him if it had been something bigger?"

"While I had been made aware of the younger Holmes personality there is nothing like seeing him work first hand. I thought my assumption was valid. Don't tell me you didn't think there was something off the first time you saw him do something like that?"

Molly went back to looking out the window. "It was a long time ago. I'm not quite sure what I thought."

Her statement wasn't quite true. The details may have been a bit hazy but she remembered the broody young man who had nothing better to do with his life than throw it away on drugs. Neither of them were at good places when they met but they had helped each other survive. She shook off those thoughts and was glad they were at very different places in their lives now.

"So that apology?"

"I'm sorry you came off like an idiot and that people think that I was engaged to you. By the way I am breaking off the engagement with you, not the other way around."

"Oh Miss Molly you wound me again with your words." Tom pulled up to the curb near her house and put the car into park. "Surely it wasn't all bad was it?"

"Actually until Sherlock came back you weren't half bad."

"Trading me for his raven curls and his charming wit."

"I would hardly call it charming. Plus you can't trade something you don't have for something you can't get. Please give Mycroft back his ring." Molly held her hand out with the ring held between her forefinger and thumb.

Tom looked at her and shook his head, "I was told not to take it back. Think of it as a gift of gratitude."

"It makes me feel like a cheap call girl that has been used. Despite Mycroft and my differences we both care about Sherlock and I need no compensation."

"Aw come on Molls. You don't want me to get in trouble," Tom whined.

Molly kept looking at him with her hand held out until he took it.

"Thank you Tom for everything," Molly said as she started to get out of the car.

"Hey, Molly wait a sec." Tome waited to speak until she turned around and ducked her head back into the car. "Maybe we could hang out sometime as friends?"

Molly looked at him and considered for a moment. "Tom, I was a job, nothing more. And while I appreciated your willingness to listen to musicals or my playing of the piano without much complaint you were paid to do so."

Tom looked at her sadly he had seen the lonely way she lived her life. She could fit in well with the Holmes brothers. Despite her lonely life style she was likeable and spunky though she chose to hide from the world. "You should give yourself more credit than that. I just think you could use a friend, and I am more than willing do so, free of charge."

"With everything that's happened and with your connection to Mycroft…I just can't. I appreciate your offer of friendship but I can't take you up on that." Molly said sadly.

"You should get out more. Or at least call back one of your brothers once in awhile."

With the last statement Molly shut the door and walked towards the front door to her complex. Before entering she turned around, "Goodbye Tom."

"Goodbye Molly," Tom echoed back to her through his open window.

Molly had not expected Tom's offer of friendship. She wondered what she must look like to people. First a former assassin offers to have teatime and now one of Mycroft's men is trying to extend the time of their acquaintance. Earlier she had felt bad for Sherlock and the changes he faced without realizing that she herself had some adjustments to make. She didn't want to admit Mary was right but there was some truth in what she said. Unless Molly put in for a transfer she would indeed come across Mary in their little social circle. She wondered how long it would be until Sherlock picked up on the tension between Molly and Mary. She wondered what his whole take on Mary was. He had been slipping of late, however, with the whole Tom thing so who knows.

She was relieved that she could finally move on from the shadow that was Mycroft and hoped things would be able to sort themselves out. John and Mary would be on their honeymoon so she was sure she would get to see Sherlock soon.

Unfortunately it would be months until Molly saw Sherlock as he had found himself a case. The next time they saw each other the event did not end favorably for either party.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

There were too many people talking but Sherlock was very adept at blocking people out. He needed to sort through his mind palace as quickly as possible as he had no time to waste. He was currently put out with John Watson but knew he would need his best friend's help with the case he was working. What he didn't need was for his best friend to tell him what he did was 'not good.' What he had done was quite a lot more than just a 'bit not good' and he didn't need to be told, honestly John didn't know the half of it. If he had maybe Molly would have been spared the pain but Sherlock would not be taking his actions nearly as seriously otherwise.

It was never in Sherlock's plan for Molly Hooper to ever find out about the drugs. He was regretting not just coming clean to John but by the time they made it to the lab and Sherlock realized what was happening in his addled state it was already too late. Molly had seen him and gave a look that managed to be angry and hurt at the same time. The only relief he had in seeing her was that the horrible ring was off her finger.

Molly could tell without the test that Sherlock was high. She also knew what drug he had used because she had witnessed him on it before. The only reason she took the test was because it gave her something to do while she reined her emotions in. There was that and the fact that John wanted the solid proof.

Sherlock felt an uncomfortable tightening in his chest. He needed to sort out Molly's room before he carried on with the case, which was coming to a conclusion tonight. He was unsure if Molly would forgive him this time and he needed to tuck this sentiment away so it did not distract him, he also did not want anyone to know how much his pathologist meant to him and he felt as if his 'sentiment' may ooze out of him at any moment now. The only people to have an inkling of his sentimental feelings were his brother, and his best friend's wife. Mary really was a sharp one, he paused a moment to add the thought to visit Mary's area to figure out why that was at a later date. He supposed it was a possibility John had some idea but he doubted that it was so. He had no time to dwell on those thoughts at present.

He opened the door to Molly's room and looked at the room he knew so well. It had originally started as a small white hospital room. The only things that had been in the room had been a bed and an IV stand. Over time the room had expanded in size, it remained white but it had changed from a hospital to room to a lab. It had changed again almost against his will, but he would never admit to it. The room was now lit by a window that reached from the ceiling to the window seat at its base. The room had remained white but now instead of the original sterility and coldness it had possessed the walls of the room were lined with floor to ceiling bookshelves that held an array of different colored books. There was a piano on one side of the room and the other room contained two cozy chairs with a table in between them. The only other thing in the room was an industrial style trashcan that was out of place with the rest of the room's décor.

He saw Molly's copy complete with lab coat and ponytail standing with her arms folded across her chest. She was also wearing the matching emotions that her counterpart had worn earlier in the day. He added the details of the encounter, and admitted that he was proud that the little woman could land such a blow with just the flat of her hand.

He decided to speak to the apparition, "I _am_ sorry for today."

The specter looked at him, "You do such horrible things every time." Her words echoed the sentiment of her original's words spoken one Christmas with a slight alteration.

"It was for a case." Sherlock said as firmly as possible.

"It always is." She answered back flatly.

"Does this mean you won't forgive me this time?"

His mind's Molly shook her head slightly and gave a sad smile, "The only way to know that, Sherlock Holmes, is to ask me. Not everything can be solved in your mind palace."

"Why do you always have to be so difficult?" He nearly shouted at the figure as he raked his fingers through his curls and turned his back on the pathologist.

When he turned back around the figure was vastly different. A young girl of about ten looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"I don't have time for this," the detective muttered. He went about sorting new thoughts and tried to keep the memories at bay. The girl sat there and watched. She didn't speak but allowed him to continue his work in peace; she rarely spoke when she appeared.

On occasion a book from the shelves would fall unbidden and the detective rushed to put them back in order. Some book titles consisted of one word such as sentiment, caring, and heart. On one of his missions to return an errant book he tripped on the trashcan knocking it over.

"Why is this still here! I know I have deleted it." The detective exclaimed as he looked down at the trashcan. A solitary piece of crumpled up paper had fallen out of the trashcan. It was a letter that Sherlock had memorized by heart the one time he read it in the physical realm.

A full-grown Molly answered his question, "Guilt."

"Don't be ridiculous I am a high functioning-"

"Liar."

He picked up the letter and flattened it out then having folded up the missive he went to a shelf and grabbed a scripted copy of _My Fair Lady_ and placed the letter inside. He decided to leave the trashcan for now and to delete it later. "Will you still help me?"

"I already told you the answer. You can't deduce the answer to that question from your mind palace."

With a huff he stalked to the door and wrenched it open. On the other side he came face to face with an unkempt man.

"Anderson! What are you doing here?" Sherlock was beginning to think maybe drugs had a negative impact on his mind palace, or maybe it had just been a bad batch.

Molly's voice answered from his room, "If you had been paying attention you would have seen that he is often nearby my room these days. He has taken quite an interest in observing our interactions."

"Anderson get in there I have no time for this just get in there." He shoved the man into Molly's room and pulled out a key. He locked the door and was relieved that he could now focus on the case.

After spending time sorting out the different aspects of the case he decided to begin his recruitment of John. It should be easy as John was as bored as Sherlock without a case. On the outside Sherlock smiled at the irony.

"You've heard of Charles Augustus Magnussen of course?"

**Very soon there will be interaction between Sherlock and Molly. Promise.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Sorry it took so long this time. This was a hard one. Thank you for reading. I really appreciate any and all reviews I have received. Thank you for following it really encourages me to continue. I hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Before I forget to say it again, I own nothing. **

John took Sherlock home and left Mary to take the other boys back home. After she dropped them off she proceeded to head back to the hospital to check on Molly. It was only after seeing Molly's reaction to Sherlock's performance that she had put two and two together on how they had originally met. She was worried that Molly was headed toward a break down and Mary could not allow it. Too many people relied on Molly holding it together right now.

Mary did indeed care about Molly but there were reservations. Mary did not like people having power over her and even if she knew it or not Dr. Hooper definitely wielded a certain amount of power. Molly had been wise in keeping her distance from Mary even though she wasn't aware of it at the time. As far as Mary knew Molly was under Magnussen's radar. Of course he knew Mary had traded in her life as an agent to save a young girl's life but hopefully her complete identity stayed secret. After tonight it would not be an issue but in the meantime Molly needed to continue to keep her head down. If Magnussen realized who Molly really was there would be consequences. Mary wondered how much Molly really remembered and knew about the organization that had held her for three years.

Saving Molly did not clear Mary's name of the crimes she had committed for her country, but it gave her some solace that she hadn't lost her humanity in the process. Now that Mary and Molly's fates had intertwined again she couldn't stay away. As long as Molly did not pose a threat to Mary's new family she welcomed Molly into her affections. Molly may be socially awkward but she was also naturally likable. Despite the pathologist's protestations Mary also knew it was only a matter of time before their social circle would include each other at regular intervals. That was if a certain consulting detective would finally get his act together. Though after today's misstep it was hard to say if Molly would forgive him so readily.

Mary made it to the morgue in record time considering she had stopped for coffee. Knowing the pathologist would try to rebuff Mary's attempts to talk to her at the morgue she decided not to go empty handed. It is much harder to refuse someone if they bring you coffee at work during a hard day.

Mary braced herself as she entered the lab that Molly was camping out in. She gave a gentle smile as Molly looked up to see her.

"I thought after this morning you may be in want of some coffee. I don't know how you take it so I brought sugar and cream too." Mary held out her offering.

Molly looked at her warily for a moment and then sighed before putting her pen down and walking over to the pregnant woman to accept the fresh brew that definitely didn't come from the canteen.

Mary laughed a little, "I thought it would take more for you to accept honestly." After Mary saw Molly's eyes widen in mistrust she added, "Don't worry I'm not Sherlock, it isn't drugged."

Molly grimaced at the last comment. "Sherlock wouldn't drug me, he's to busy doing that to himself."

Mary winced. There was silence as Mary looked intently at Molly who kept staring down and occasionally took a sip of her coffee. Mary decided to try some small talk to get Molly to relax. "I didn't take you for a black coffee drinker."

Molly met Mary's eyes again which Mary chose to take as progress. "Sentiment."

Mary opened her mouth in a small oh before speaking again, "Your mother?"

"No, father." More silence filled the room. Molly placed the coffee down on the nearest counter. "Listen I appreciate the coffee, I think, but why are you here?"

"Honestly, I'm worried about you."

Molly raised her eyebrows and asked in an incredulous tone, "You're worried about me? Why?"

"Because I thought today was hard for you. Especially after I realized that you and Sherlock met in rehab."

_The first time Sherlock and the girl, who would eventually be known as Molly, spoke she had been at the hospital for three months. At that time she had not spoken a word to anyone. She was exceptionally bright but gave no personal information and only communicated through writing. The hospital personnel were unable to determine an exact age due to the effects of the drugs that had been in her system. Their best guesstimate was that she was between the ages of nine and thirteen. It was a wide age gap to be certain, but with the intelligence she displayed and the trauma to her body it was hard to narrow it down. There was quite a bit of evidence that whoever had been administering the drugs to her knew what they were doing. Without a name to call her they fell back on calling her Jane. At times different people would try to guess her name but she gave no reaction to any name given to her. _

_Truth to be told she didn't give many reactions to anything going on around her. One exception to that rule was that upon the slightest hint of being administered an IV drip she would cower in a corner while closing her eyes, covering her ears, and rocking back and forth. This made administering medicine to help her quite difficult but they had ceased having problems with getting her to eat. Her case was a strange one but with nowhere to send her the hospital staff chose to keep her in the rehab center. They had attempted to send her to the psych ward but that had ended up causing her more harm than good. The only times she visited that wing of the hospital was when they attempted to have her take part in group sessions. For the time being they did not know how to go forward with her case and she remained where she had initially been placed. _

_At seventeen years of age Sherlock had been in and out of this center seven times in the past five months and his brother was at his wits end._

_"Sherlock you really must stay this time or there will be no further help for you after this." Mycroft hissed at his baby brother._

_"I don't want your help Mykey. When have I ever wanted your help?" The raven headed teenager sneered at his older brother. "Where's mummy?"_

_"She's not coming this time. I am through letting you break her heart time and again. It's time you learned some consequences. Stay here for a straight month and then she and father will come visit you."_

_"You can't do that!"_

_"Do you really want her to see you in this state again?"_

_The whole conversation had been played out in the common room where the other patients could hear. It was a fairly common occurrence so not many of the present addicts paid too much attention to the fraternal squabble. After squaring off in an intense staring contest Sherlock turned his back on his older brother and stomped off to one of the tables and slumped down in a seat._

_Sherlock continued to sulk in the seat while his brother made final arrangements concerning Sherlock's re-admittance into the program, which for normal cases was only supposed to last for two months at the most._

_Sherlock eyed the two people sharing his table. The first person was a young woman, early twenties, too skinny and may have once have been thought of as pretty but her looks had been damaged by her drug use. She was a run of the mill addict, privileged college drop out, in a word, boring. The other member at his table was a girl he had seen before but had never bothered with. She was lost in a book that was placed upon the table and hadn't given a moment to even acknowledge his presence. The only movement he saw was from her fingers moving about. Sometimes she would drum her fingers, but other times there were distinct patterns though they seemed to occur unconsciously on her part. She had managed to rouse a curiosity in him. _

_"You're clean now, so why haven't they moved you to the psych ward to deal with your trauma?"_

_She looked up at him with wide brown eyes that seemed surprised that he would talk to her. She had observed his habit of coming in and out of the center but he had never deigned to speak to her before._

_Sherlock observed her reaction and continued to read her. "Ahh. You're still here because you don't fit the status quo of psychopaths often found at this establishment's psych ward so to protect you they brought you back here. You're uncomfortable with being noticed and you try to hide it by being quiet and hiding in a book. But due to where you are in actuality you can only attract attention by not speaking. This being said you're mute by choice not from a psychological phenomenon. You are trying to hide from someone, logically the person or rather people who did this to you. By not giving out any information you're trying to avoid the risk of being sent back to where you came from. But what exactly is it that you are hiding or hiding from?"_

_During Sherlock's speech the girl had grown more and more alarmed. As Sherlock leaned forward with steepled hands and slanted eyes she grabbed her book and scurried off to her room. She was terrified by what he had seen and was afraid the staff would push her to talk if they heard what he had said. He was known for the uncanny ability of always being right, much to the chagrin of the workers, especially the former ones that had lost their jobs because of him._

_The other addict smirked at him. "Good job at scaring the kid off. Now it's just you and me."_

_Sherlock raised one eyebrow, "No, just you." So saying he stood up and headed off to his room. He doubted it would take a whole month to figure out the girl's mystery but it would keep him from being bored for a while and maybe he could last and see his mummy again._

"Hello, earth to Molly."

"Oh, sorry Mary. I was just thinking back…"

"So I'm right then. You and Sherlock met in rehab."

"Of course you're right. You could give the Holmes boys a run for their money."

Mary gave a slight smirk before becoming serious again. "So, how are you handling today?"

"I'm not going to fall a part if that's what you're worried about. I'm angry and hurt but that's part of being Sherlock's friend. It breaks my heart to be honest. But if I fell a part every time he did something stupid, well, I probably wouldn't be alive. I'm not being morbid but _you_ were the one that taught me I had to be able to hold it together or I would die."

"I was hoping that you would get a chance to live a life. What you are doing is not quite living."

"I do all right for myself. I have my work, my cat, and my books. It's not a lot but it's enough."

"It's not enough…"

"I did what you said. I learned to survive. What more do you want from me _Mary?"_

"It's not want I want from you it's what I want _for _you."

"You thought you would save my life and somehow it would be like a fairy tale and the lost orphan would get a happy ending? I am not Annie or Oliver. Life's not a musical or a fairy tale, trust me I am very familiar with both."

"But certainly they put you with a family…"

"And our father," Molly gulped and corrected herself, "their father died. Everyone around me dies."

"It's not your fault. You know that right?"

Molly gave a sad smile, "Of course I do. I almost went into psychology before deciding on pathology. Of course someone nudged me in the direction of working in a morgue."

"Did he really?"

"During our time in rehab." Molly gave a small but more genuine smile and shook her head.

Mary couldn't help but laugh, "What did he break you two into the morgue when he was bored or something?" Mary imagined the scene in her head and couldn't help but laugh again.

Molly blushed and looked sheepish.

"You're kidding! Wait of course you're not this is Sherlock Holmes we're talking about. I would love the chance to hear those stories."

"Yeah, well, he probably doesn't remember any of our time in rehab together."

Mary gave her a puzzled look, "Why do you say that?"

"Because Sherlock deletes things that are not important."

"Perhaps he thought the time in rehab was important."

Molly shrugged, "Perhaps, but he has never given any indication that he has remembered anything. Listen, thank you for coming back and checking on me. It is kind of weird to be honest, but it's kind of nice too."

"Are you going to be all right?"

Molly gave the now familiar part smile and nodded, "Of course. I'm always all right."

"Listen I meant what I said. It's not enough just to survive. We all need other people. Even Sherlock does despite how many times he tries to deny it. My offer will always stand, if you want to get coffee sometime." Mary held up her hand before Molly could interrupt. "I understand your reservations. Even if you don't become friends with me you should allow others to be your friends."

Molly stared at the ground for the moment then met Mary's eyes. "I can't do coffee."

Mary nodded her understanding.

Molly sighed, "Perhaps I could do tea sometime though."

Mary smiled and shook her head, "Okay then, tea." She felt a little bit lighter with the possible chance to get to know the pathologist better. She even hoped that against all odds that they could be friends someday. She was relieved that Molly was strong enough not to fall a part but now had more questions about her past and the part Sherlock had played in it. She may have a chance to find out in the future, but first she had work to do before that could happen. All Mary had to do now was to remove the threat that had encroached upon her new life and then she would be free.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Sherlock stood outside the morgue door. During his ride on the cab over he focused entirely on the case at hand and buried any thoughts of Molly behind her locked door. This turned out to be a mistake because now here he was outside the door waiting to ask for a favor and the memories of the morning were causing doubt. The doubt grew when he heard a familiar voice in his mind telling him what he was about to ask was more than a bit not good.

Sherlock was running out of time and he needed to make a decision and fast. Despite the impossibility of such a situation ever happening Sherlock Holmes was currently having a moment of doubt. He had originally thought his idea was brilliant as Molly was always willing to help him on his cases but in light of the day's earlier events and for the favor he was about to ask he had started to wonder if maybe it was not such a good idea after all. The truth was he had never thought of a world where Molly Hooper would tell him no. But previously that same world was one in which the same Molly Hooper would never have slapped him. All these concerns, because of course it wasn't fear, came to the surface. Perhaps he should have spent more time in that room before locking it after all. He of course had a plan B and had decided he should have used that as his plan A instead.

Finally coming to a decision he straightened his coat, popped the collar, and promptly turned the other way. He was now facing the elevator that would lead him away from the lab door that he decided was not in his best interest to go through. He checked over his shoulder a few times while he waited rather impatiently for the elevator to arrive. The rest of his time he spent typing text messages to people who owed him favors who would be ready to pay him back at a moment's notice. So far his pathologist hadn't caught sight of him so he was in the clear.

The elevator made a ding to announce its arrival and Sherlock shoved his phone back into his pocket. Unfortunately for Sherlock he always misses something. In this case it was the fact that the reason his favorite pathologist hadn't caught sight of him was that she hadn't been on that floor in the first place, but now she was.

"I wasn't expecting to see you back here today."

"I-," Sherlock was forced to clear his throat before continuing, "wanted to—apologize for this morning." He gave one of his signature 'I'm pretending to be sincere smiles' while congratulating himself on a nice save.

Molly maneuvered herself around Sherlock and out of the elevator, as he was not giving her room to do so.

She refused to make eye contact as she passed him and asked in a resigned voice, "Why are you really here Sherlock?"

Sherlock frowned, he knew it did not bode well for him if Molly was using such a tone and asking why he was there instead of what he needed. He had started following Molly down the hall to her office but decided it was in his best interest not to mention the request he had been about to make to Molly.

Unfortunately for Sherlock, he had already incurred the wrath of the woman he was following and she was not going to be cooperative and let the situation rest. She turned to face, "You came here with a purpose. You wouldn't be here otherwise. You're working on a case. Now out with it, what do you want?"

For the second time that day Sherlock was taken aback by the woman before him. His mouth opened but no words were coming out. The case. He needed to focus on the case before taking time to straighten out his Molly problem, that is if he could. The last time she had responded so coldly to him had been years ago. He had thought he had lost her then. He grimaced as the memory of a garbage can and a note scrawled in a young girl's hand bled through the walls of his mind palace.

Molly watched the man before her as he tried to process whatever was going on inside his head. This was not the right moment to give him a hard time. He needed to finish this case and get out of it. If he needed her help to get this over with so that they, correction _he,_ could move on from the drug situation she would definitely do it.

This time softly Molly spoke to him, "What do you need?"

Sherlock inhaled deeply. "You'll still help me?"

She gave him a small sad smile, "Of course I will."

He looked to the side of his peripheral vision while he tried to figure out what her response meant for him. "So you…"

"Will help you."

"Forgive me?"

Now it was Molly's turn to be surprised. She studied the man before her. Where he had been apologizing insincerely before she was now able to see someone who, while maybe not regretting their actions, was regretting how he had hurt the people around him. Or at the very least acknowledging that he could damage his relationships with others. She could see the vulnerability and need that he had for forgiveness. This is at least partly why he now hesitated to make his request when usually he had no problem making demands.

Molly licked her lips and nibbled on her upper lip before answering. "I will always forgive you Sherlock, but things will have to be different around here in the future. I will help you finish this case so that you have no excuse to be on drugs but after that we will need to talk. But for now, what do you need?"

Sherlock allowed himself a moment of relief while he put things in their proper place in his mind to be examined later. "I actually need to borrow your engagement ring if you still have it?"

Molly cocked an eyebrow at him and started walking the rest of the way to her office. "Unfortunately I do," she called over her shoulder, "I tried to return it to its owner but when I came into work the next day it was on my desk."

While she was speaking they had reached her office, which was adjoined to a lab. She unlocked the door and allowed both of them to enter the sparsely furnished room. She put the files she had been carrying down on her desk and started for the corner of the room and reached for something on the floor. Turning to Sherlock she threw the item toward him and he deftly caught it with one hand.

"The box is not looking to good for the wear. Did you have to throw it at the wall?" Outside he was looking annoyed with the presentation of the box but inside he was smug that meat dagger's gift had taken such abuse.

"Oy. You wanted the ring and there you have it. Do I even want to know what you'll be using it for?"

"Don't worry you'll get it back."

"I thought it would be obvious for such a detective as you to deduce that I don't want it back. Please return it to the owner when you're finished actually, if you don't mind. Well, still return it even if you do." She smiled her genuine smile and Sherlock finally felt that things would probably be okay after this case was finished.

He smiled back at her choice of words knowing that she was mocking him. "I guess it's the least I can do given the circumstances."

Molly noticed a lack of comprehension on the detective's part of what returning the ring meant and figured out that he still didn't know the true story behind her engagement. "So why do you need it?"

Sherlock looked a bit uncomfortable for a moment as he faced Molly's scrutiny. After a moment he realized how foolish he was being. He was working a case and Molly knew he would do anything to follow through. He already had John acting as a conscience he didn't need to add another's voice to the cacophony of voices that tried to tell him what to do.

"I need to get into an office and this is the only way to get past the security."

"Lucky girl," Molly's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Have you even thought of…never mind. You will do what it takes to finish a case, right?"

"Can I still use the ring?" He had known Molly wouldn't approve of his methods but didn't want to antagonize her any more than he already had.

"What do you care? It's already in your hands."

"If you don't want to be involved I can find another ring."

"It's not really my ring. You do know it was bit not good to ask me for the ring though, don't you?"

"I came to that conclusion, yes."

"That's why you stood outside the door so long," the last sentence was delivered as a statement and not a question.

The pair looked at each other not knowing what to say next. Molly finally broke the silence, "Be careful Sherlock."

"I'm always careful." Sherlock gave her a wink and turned to go.

Sherlock had made it into the elevator and as he turned to punch the buttons he saw Molly running down the hall. She had come to decision. She was tired of having so many secrets and was feeling like shocking the detective as a small form of payback. Additionally she wanted to be rid of the accursed ring.

The door had already started to close as Molly shouted out to Sherlock, "Make sure Mycroft keeps that bloody ring this time!" She smiled at the shocked look on his face as the doors closed, she really did enjoy doing that to him when she could.

Sherlock had missed _that _bit of information. 'That little minx of a pathologist is wrecking havoc on my mind palace today,' he thought to himself as he heard a click of a door being unlocked somewhere in his mind palace. He refused to let himself investigate and shoved the new info into a closet to be examined later.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Just borrowing.**

**Trying to update as quickly as possible as requested. Thank you for the encouragement to update soon razzle-dazzle1606. Thank you to MizJoely for your reviews, it means a lot! Thanks again for reviews.**

Sherlock couldn't move his body but his mind was becoming more aware by the moment. He started to adjust his concentration on what was happening around him. He may have been denied his other senses but it took him no time to assess that he was in the hospital. He could hear voices, one of which was familiar to him.

Molly was his emergency contact. He had almost forgotten since it was buried back somewhere in his mind. He hadn't needed an emergency contact since usually his visits to the hospital were not as dire as his current state. He had her put on his form a couple years ago before he had met John because he did not want Mycroft to have any power over him while he was in mortal peril. Molly on the other hand was someone he trusted implicitly.

"We highly recommend leaving him in a medically induced coma for the moment Ms. Hooper."

"It's Dr. Hooper. I work at this hospital for crying out loud. I understand the benefits of allowing his body to remain in comatose state perhaps better than you do. The git will probably want to be in bed as soon as he's awake but I was put on as his emergency contact because I would carry out the patient's wishes, which I happen to know a lot better than you do!"

'That's my girl,' thought Sherlock.

"Excuse me Dr. Hooper. What department do you work in?"

"I am a pathologist," Molly narrowed her eyes at the blond doctor who had been assigned Sherlock's case.

The doctor before her wasn't old but he wasn't fresh out of uni either. He reminded her of Gilderoy Lockhart in both manners and looks and she was really wishing magic was real so that she could be rid of the insufferable man who insisted on talking down to her.

The man before her raised his sculpted eyebrows, "Oh, so a morgue goblin who doesn't actually work with living patients."

Molly rolled her eyes, "Look I am not saying wake him up right this moment but I am saying it is highly probable for that to be decision _I _make based upon what _he _would want. Now run along I have some thinking to do before they admit his best friend in."

Molly stared daggers into the man who huffed and puffed his way out of the hospital room before turning to Sherlock. Upon reaching Sherlock's bedside she pulled one of his hands into hers. Sherlock may not have been able to move but he could still feel, and Molly had always spoken with her hands even when she was unaware of it.

_Sherlock had spent the past week observing the too young patient. She preferred the solitary confines of her room but the staff required her to spend time in the common room. Sherlock found this to be a pointless exercise because they could not get her talk but if they hadn't he wouldn't have the opportunity to be able to figure her out. She always had a book in her hand; currently she was reading _Gray's Anatomy_, which was a change from her usual fairy tales. When she had first started reading it Sherlock was surprised and even pleased until he realized the only reason she was reading it in the first place was probably because of the lack of books in the hospital. When he came upon this realization he was disappointed that it was just a fluke that she would be reading anything interesting and perhaps be someone who he could have a decent conversation with for the next twenty-two days, which was if he could get her to talk._

_Just like the first day Sherlock had spoken to her, she continually moved her fingers. It seemed she was unconscious of her motions. It didn't take long for Sherlock to figure out that the girl was not randomly moving her fingers about. She kept her movements small but she was clearly making signs at times and at other times it looked as if she were playing an imaginary piano all the while never stopping her continuous reading. _

_Unlike the girl Sherlock had an unlimited access to books through Mycroft. Mycroft was so relieved that Sherlock had made a request for books that he willingly provided them to keep Sherlock entertained while in rehab in hopes that it meant his cooperation. Sherlock's first request had been a book on sign language. The first book he had received was about the British Sign Language system and it didn't match up with what the signs he was seeing. The girl made one-handed signs that he was thinking were letters but the British alphabet used two hands when making letters. He then requested a book on American Sign Language and his ever-punctual brother delivered the book the very next day. He had discovered through his continued observations and his study that she continually signed what he believed was her name and she indeed was using the American Sign Language Alphabet._

_She had avoided making eye-contact with Sherlock since the day he had talked with her, but never made to move if he happened to sit at her table which he had chosen to do that day. Currently an insufferable staff member was trying once again to cajole her into talking._

_"Come on, love. You say no to all the names so you must know what your name is. Don't you want to tell us?" The woman working with her looked tired. She had been trying to get the girl to talk for nearly a month and wanted nothing more to get the child moved to another department or hospital._

_"Molly." Sherlock answered the question._

_"Excuse me?"_

_"The girl's name is Molly."_

_"And you know this how? By the shoelaces she's wearing?" The woman glared at Sherlock._

_The office staff was of course aware of Sherlock's uncanny powers of observation and they were even more aware of his attitude, which didn't earn him any fans. It didn't matter to Sherlock how the staff viewed him. He just wanted to solve the mystery before him and to do that he wanted the girl, now Molly in his mind, to talk or at the very least acknowledge him. The girl was currently looking at him with her head cocked and eyes slightly squinted as if she were trying to figure him out. It wasn't a conversation but it was a start._

_"Well, that would be a little ridiculous since she is wearing slippers and not shoes would it not?" Sherlock answered with one eyebrow cocked as if to point out how stupid of a statement that was. "If you don't believe me you could always ask her."_

_The woman turned her attention back to the girl, "Is your name Molly?"_

_The brown-eyed girl stared into the eyes of the young man across from her before slowly nodding._

_The nurse gave a sigh of relief followed by a smile. "Good. Very good. I'll let you get back to your book for the moment." To Sherlock she added, "Looks like you can be helpful once in awhile after all. It wasn't that hard was it?" _

Molly was gripping Sherlock's hand tightly. He could feel her anguish through the contact and even though he could not see her he could deduce from the pressure on his hand that she would not be smiling.

"I want you to know it is against my better judgment to wake you up. That being said, however, I have no idea what you have gotten yourself into and you may be in more danger asleep than awake. I wish I could extract a promise from you to take care of yourself while you heal but we both know that would never happen."

While she was speaking her grip had loosened but now he could feel it shake as it held his. He felt trapped and wanted to run away the best he could do was to slip into the actual sleep that both his body and mind craved.

The sound of the door opening caused Molly to suddenly drop Sherlock's hand unceremoniously back on to the bed. John entered the room with the frantic energy of someone who was worried they were about to lose someone they loved. His eyes widened a little when he saw Molly.

"What are you doing here Molly?" John saw Molly flinch at his tone, "Sorry that was a bit rude I'm just surprised to see you here is all."

Molly gave a smile small, "Sherlock made me his emergency contact a couple of years before he met you. He probably just never got around to changing it, probably not on his high list of priorities."

John read the hidden meaning in her words that she thought Sherlock would prefer John as the executor of his health decisions. "It's not that I thought _I_ would be, honestly, I just thought it would be Mycroft."

Molly cocked an eyebrow and smiled wider than she had all day, "You really think Sherlock would have allowed for that?"

John chuckled and was grateful for the chance to relieve some of the stress from the day, "I guess not. So are you going to have them wake him up?"

"That's what he would have wanted, unless you think there is a good reason not to?"

"Except for the reason that we will have to hear the man child whine about being bored I think it may be best to wake him up. We don't know if someone is going to come after him and finish the job."

Molly wrinkled her nose, she didn't relish talking to the pompous bully of a doctor again but needs must. She pushed the button to call the doctor back in. John watched Molly as they waited. He had seen sides of her today he had never before seen let alone imagined that they had even existed in the first place. He watched her cross her arms and uncross her arms again in the span of a few seconds. She also shifted the weight of her feet but finally settled with her left foot back and right foot slightly forward. She crossed her arms once again and started drumming her fingers on her upper arms before John cleared his throat to speak.

"You know, now that he's made it this far he will make it the rest of the way." John sought to reassure the jittery woman beside him.

"Huh?" Molly snapped out of her own thoughts, "Oh I know."

"Well it's just that you seemed tense so I thought I should reassure you. You're fidgeting an awful lot."

Molly dropped her arms and shoved her hands into the pockets of her lab coat. "Oh right, thanks, of course." Molly let John assume her inability to stay still was due to concern for Sherlock but the truth was she was petrified of being alone with John. She had kept secrets from him before and was once more in the position of holding a major secret. It was eating her from inside but knew there was no reason to divulge her information, after all Mary was a changed person.

John could feel the tension but didn't realize he was the cause of it. So he decided to try and relieve it through small talk. "Were you here when they called?"

"Yes."

"You haven't been home since this morning?" John asked incredulously.

"Well it's not like I could sleep tonight knowing that the two of you were on a case. I mean the bloody idiot was using again for the case so I figured it wasn't the safest of cases, but for him to be in the hospital like this…" Her sentence died off.

"You knew we were out tonight?"

"He asked to use my engagement ring."

"And you let him? Even after this morning? And you knew what he was going to use it for?" John spat out.

"I understood the gist of it."

"Sherlock was right you apparently aren't as sweet as everyone thinks you are." John regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. "Molly, I'm so—"

"No. I probably deserved that. I don't even want to know the context he said that in."

"You did not deserve that. Not from me and certainly not from him."

"Don't I though?" For the first time since the conversation started Molly turned to look John in the eyes.

John and Molly had never spoken about her part in helping Sherlock and her subsequent secret keeping that had followed. He was just now realizing that even though he and Molly were not the closest of friends that perhaps they should have talked about the situation. No wonder Molly was nervous. It was because she was alone with _him_. Sherlock was right, again, he saw but didn't observe. He was just thinking of what to say when the doctor came in.

"Well have you decided to trust my wise council and let him remain asleep for the moment," the doctor said with a sneer.

John was the first to speak. "You must be new at Bart's I haven't seen you before."

"I am. My name is Dr. Alexander James. Do you frequent this hospital to know the staff so well?"

"Frequent? We both work here! This is Dr. Molly Hooper and she is one of the most respected pathologists I know."

"Exactly. Pathologists aren't real doctors mate. Not for living people. They work on dead people because they can't hack it as a real doctor."

John gritted his teeth and counted to ten. It would do no good to hit the ignorant man in front of him. John's voice was low as he gave instructions to the doctor. "You are going start the process of getting Sherlock out of his coma as the instructions of his legal emergency contact dictates then you are going to resign from this case. And if you are wise you will put in for a transfer, _mate."_

"I would do what he says. He's an army doctor after all. You know how hotheaded they can be with stereotypes and all," piped in Molly.

The doctor started the process while muttering under his breath and then leaving.

"I'm glad you were here John."

"Sorry you had to even put up with that bully." Molly shrugged and John continued to speak, "I guess all we do now is wait."

After a moment of awkward silence Molly decided to speak. "So what was the case anyway?"

"Do you know of Charles Augustus Magnussen?" John asked.

Molly paled a bit before asking, "The newspaper mogul?"

"Yeah, some client asked Sherlock to retrieve some information from him."

Molly's eyes widened with the information she was receiving. "Did Sherlock say who the client was?"

"A Lady Smallwood I believe he said."

Molly relaxed a bit upon hearing the client's name but her hands started clenching in her pockets. If Sherlock was working a case that involved Magnussen he was not quite safe yet and the decision to allow him to wake up was indeed the correct one. That man was a monster, and a smart one too. What was Sherlock after that he would need to get close to that awful cretin?

Neither of Sherlock's friends wanted to leave so when he finally did wake they were both there to greet him. When he saw John he spoke one word, "Mary," but could not communicate much more than that.

John laughed in relief and confusion to hear the detective speak his own wife's name. Molly quietly excused herself and made her way back to the morgue. Her mind reeled with possibilities of what Sherlock could have meant. She hoped her hypothesis was wrong. Otherwise she had miscalculated about Mary Watson changing and she may have allowed someone dangerous near Sherlock again. She planned on talking to Sherlock as soon as possible. For the moment he was safe in the hospital but she debated about making a deal with the devil thinking that asking Mycroft to protect his brother may not be a bad idea. For now she would have to keep an eye on him herself and wait until she had her fears confirmed, or hopefully dismissed.

**I'm personally excited about the next chapter. Long talk between Sherlock and Molly. Please stay tuned. Thanks for input!**


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

There hadn't been anyway for Molly to get any sleep that night so she had chosen to stay in her morgue. No one else was working that night so she had the place to herself. Fortunately for her there was an autopsy to perform. It was just a run of the mill autopsy, nothing that would warrant Sherlock's attention, but it kept her busy for period of time.

She, like her birth father, liked working with her hands. She may carve into bodies but her father had carved into wood. It was one of the things she vividly remembered from her childhood before things had turned sideways. She may have been exhausted and the work was not the most cheerful but it helped her calm down and clear her mind. She was opposite of Sherlock in that respect, he could sit for hours in his mind palace but she needed something in her hands to think clearly.

She went over the information in her mind. Sherlock had gotten involved with a case that had to do with Magnussen. The man, if he could be called as such, was vile and both Mary and Molly had an awareness of how much of a danger he could be if anyone aroused his ire. Molly reviewed the fact that Sherlock's client was Lady Smallwood. Her name held little personal information to Molly but there was some small data tucked away in Molly's mind of this woman's importance to British politics. This made Molly question why Sherlock was involved in this case at all and why it was not Mycroft handling it instead. Goodness knew that man was capable and she also knew that despite Mycroft's faults he did care deeply for his brother. So why hadn't Mycroft tried to protect his brother from that monster? In Mycroft's defense even if he had tried to shield his younger brother from the loathsome creature, Sherlock was bull-headed enough to press further into the case if he had already accepted the challenge. The most troubling bit of information about the whole business was that Sherlock's first word upon waking was Mary's name. This made Mary's existence pertinent to what was happening.

Molly continued to work on the body of the 64 year-old lung cancer victim in front of her as her thoughts chased each other around in her head. She was tired and she was not Sherlock Holmes so she could not think as clearly. But one question repeated itself over and over in her mind, 'Was Mary Watson the one to shoot Sherlock Holmes?' Part of her wanted to say that she was being silly and paranoid, that was the same part wanted to be friends with Mary. The other part, the more dominant part, didn't trust anyone completely ever since she had been a child and told her that no one was to be trusted, least of all 'Mary.' However, if Mary had wanted Sherlock dead he would be so.

Molly finished the autopsy and sewed up a tidy Y incision. She hadn't come to any solid conclusions. The only thing she knew with certainty was that she needed to speak to Sherlock. Just as there hadn't been a chance of her getting sleep that night, there was absolutely no chance in her leaving the hospital until she had spoken to Sherlock.

Over the next few days Sherlock made his way out of ICU and into a recovery ward. Molly had extra resources at her fingertips since she both worked at the hospital Sherlock was being held at and she was his emergency contact. He had only woken occasionally and hadn't said much at all, let alone held a conversation, but Molly kept close tabs on his progress. When he was finally able to talk she wanted to be close at hand. She hadn't gotten a proper night sleep in her bed since Sherlock was caught doing drugs and just catnapped here and there in her office. The only time she left the hospital was to feed her cat Toby and she was always gone less than an hour at a time.

When he finally did become conscious enough to have a conversation the hospital staff alerted her. Molly had just arrived when Janine was leaving Sherlock's room but by the time she entered the room Sherlock was in his mind palace. To be honest Molly was jealous that Mary's maid-of-honor was the first one to speak with Sherlock. Molly cursed herself for being so foolish and flopped down in the only available visitor's chair in the room. After thinking clearly about why Janine could possibly be there Molly came to the conclusion that Janine must have been the one Sherlock proposed to. This theory also gave a tidy tie between the night Sherlock got shot and Mary's involvement. She was too tired to leave so she stayed and watched the man she had come to love.

Despite what people had thought Molly hadn't always loved Sherlock. When she had met Sherlock she had been little more than a child who had been forced to grow up a lot faster. He had recognized that she needed to disappear and decided to help her. She had been drowning and he had thrown her a line and taught her how to survive and stay in England.

Being young himself and lacking certain social skills he had inadvertently taught Molly some of his bad habits. One of these being the lesson that being alone was better. Molly had come into rehab with a negative view of people in general so it didn't take much to convince her to keep her social circle small. The few people Molly had cared for at that stage in life had been torn from her and she did not wish to experience such loss again. Unfortunately she later experienced the loss of yet another parent when her adoptive father passed away from cancer. This caused her to pull back from people even further.

Sherlock and Molly met again years later. Neither mentioned their stay in rehab for different reasons. Molly had come to the conclusion that the information had been dumped from his mind palace as unimportant. The new relationship was based upon Sherlock's need to use the lab. Molly had been more than willing to help him due to her gratefulness and a sense of indebtedness. With each season Molly's feelings changed for the detective, eventually reaching the state of love she now had for the man lying in the hospital bed.

She had started to nod off when a deep baritone voice echoed through her skull.

"You haven't slept since the morning John had you test me."

Molly breathed in deeply as she straightened up in her seat. Giving him a level glare with one eyebrow higher than the other she replied, "Sleep is over-rated. The body is only transport after all."

The two glared at each other for a moment before they both broke into grins and started laughing. Once they had settled down again Sherlock was the one who broke the silence.

"I am sorry to have worried you again in such a short amount of time. It was not my intention to get shot."

"I didn't think that was your aim." Molly paused before continuing. Her mouth disappeared as she pinched her lips inward between her teeth and she looked upward as she gathered her courage. What she was about to ask could change so many things about all their lives. "Was it Mary?"

Sherlock had once again underestimated the woman before him. He observed her and wondered how she had gotten to that conclusion so quickly. In a matter of moments he had come to the most logical, no matter how improbable, conclusion. There were many details that led him to this discovery but one small detail unknown to most that stuck out to him.

"Ah…your accent. You knew Mary from before."

_Sherlock was organizing what he had chosen to call his mind palace when he heard his hospital door creak open and then shut. He looked up to see 'Molly' standing by the door. She shuffled her feet and was wringing her hands together. She reminded him of a mouse that was trying to decide whether or not to bolt._

_"Well, you risked coming here at night for some reason." Sherlock said to the girl with cinnamon colored hair. _

_She squeaked adding to his personification of her being a mouse. "My name isn't really Molly you know."_

_"Oh so you are an American?" Sherlock asked with a smile that he had figured out something everyone else had overlooked. Everyone had taken for granted that she was from England but for her to use ASL as she did there was a high probability that_ _her origins had laid elsewhere. Now that she had finally spoken he was able to confirm his suspicions._

_"I don't know what you mean." Molly looked fearful._

_"Your accent is appalling."_

_"Is it that obvious?" She had the start of tears in her eyes. "Please don't tell anyone. I can't go back."_

_Sherlock did not want to deal with a crying child. Perhaps she wasn't as interesting as he has thought. But he may as well turn this into a game to see if he could use her to trick others into seeing her as something else. He decided to try to get her mind on something else. "How did you sneak in here anyway?"_

_She opened and shut her mouth a couple times._

_ "I already know your accent is atrocious, there is no hiding it now. The only way you can get better is by practicing out loud anyhow."_

_Molly must have decided there was logic in what he said because she answered his question. "Tammy is on the desk tonight and she is always to talking on the phone so she doesn't pay attention."_

_Sherlock knew exactly to whom Molly was referring as he had also taken advantage of the young intern's carelessness himself. She probably wouldn't make it in the medical field in the long run, at least he hoped not. "Is that where you nicked your copy of Gray's Anatomy?"_

_Molly got defensive again, "It's not like she was reading it or anything. Plus I was so bored." Sherlock could understand the feeling. "Please don't tell anyone."_

_Sherlock gave a long-suffering sigh. This was the second time tonight she had made that request. Something would need to be done about her speech patterns. Repeat after me, "__**Please don't tell anyone**__."_

_She looked confused but followed his instructions, "Please don't tel-"_

_"No it's pronounced this way…"_

_After about ten minutes Molly had managed to say the sentence in a much-improved accent. She had relaxed enough to move closer to the bed. She was starved for any sort of real contact with people, and based on the appearance of help the teen was giving, she chose to trust him for the moment. She was curious about something though. _

_"Why Molly?"_

_"Why did you agree to it?"_

_"I asked you first."_

_Sherlock had almost forgotten he was dealing with a child until that sentence. "It's close enough to your real name so you won't forget it but removed enough that whoever is looking for you won't make the connection. I would go by a name such as Elizabeth Margaret to remove it even further if you are given the choice."_

_"But where would Molly come from?"_

_"It's __**Molly**__." Sherlock fixed the pronunciation of her name before answering. "It can be a nickname for Margaret."_

_"Why would I go by my middle name?"_

_"What's wrong with using a middle name?" Sherlock asked affronted at the question._

_"Why do you keep answering me with questions it's rather annoying."_

_"It's pronounced '__**rather annoying**__.'"_

_"Rather annoying."_

_"No, __**rather annoying**__."_

_They continued in this strain for a while. Sherlock finally resorted to sounding out every syllable until she got the phrase correct._

_"By George she's got it!"_

_Molly smiled. It was the first time she had done so in Sherlock's presence and, though he would deny it, it brought him pleasure to having been the reason for it. "That's the first time you've smiled since being here, why?"_

_Molly blushed, "My mom and I used to watch musicals all the time. You remind me of Henry Higgins from _My Fair Lady. _He says the same thing when Eliza gets her English right. You even have the same attitude as him!" She added the last sentence with a lopsided grin._

_Sherlock blushed in embarrassment as that was where he had taken the line from. If Mycroft ever found out he would never hear the end of it. His mother also watched musicals and he was forced to do so as well. He thought to himself that he really needed to delete what he knew about musicals from his mind palace because they were absolute rubbish. Perhaps he would hold on to this one for now, at least until it was no longer of any use._

_"It's __**mum**__. I may as well help you. I need an experiment to work on to keep my mind sharp anyway."_

_The smile disappeared from Molly's face quicker than it had appeared. The look left on her face was best described as stormy and she hissed at him, "I'm not an experiment." Then turned abruptly and left._

_Sherlock was shocked by the display but was given more pieces of a puzzle as well as a new challenge. How would he to get Molly to talk again?_

"You remember rehab?"

"Of course why wouldn't I?" snapped Sherlock.

"You never gave any indication that you remembered and you delete what's unimportant."

"Molly how many times do I have to tell you that you count for you to believe it?"

Molly and Sherlock entered another staring contest. Sherlock was finding these spars tedious as they had work to do.

"Tell me what you know about Mary."

**Sorry. They didn't actually talk yet. I didn't want the chapter to get too long. I hope the flow was okay. I'm thinking about adding a separate story file with stories from Sherlock and Molly's time in rehab that aren't going to make it in the story but are kind of cute scenes. Is there any interest? Thank you for reading and following. **


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**So sorry for the delay. I have been sick all week. Thank you so much for the follows! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing here or in the other chapters where I forgot a disclaimer. **

_"Tell me what you know about Mary."_

Molly looked at Sherlock with the bleary eyes of someone who hadn't slept for a couple days. She leaned forward in her seat and allowed her mouth to open and close a couple times before shaking her head.

"I can't," her voice came out in a half gasp half whisper.

Sherlock could see when the all-encompassing fear crept into her eyes and knew she wasn't replying in such a way to avoid the topic but because she actually felt she couldn't. He sat up as her breathing became shallow.

"Molly, look at me. Breathe. Just breathe."

Molly focused on Sherlock's eyes but instead of following his instructions she stopped breathing. Sherlock sat up straighter in his bed despite the pain such a move wrought on his body. He gasped in pain, which brought Molly out of her stupor and caused her to breathe again. She closed her eyes and took a few steadying breaths.

Without opening her eyes she spoke to Sherlock, "I'm sorry. I don't know why it affected me so badly. I mean, I've seen Mary on multiple occasions and I've never reacted that way before."

Sherlock waited for a few minutes to see if Molly would continue. When she didn't he spoke to her in calming tones, "You are tired and the stress of seeing someone you…" he cleared his throat and searched for a safe term, "hmm…are friends with hurt has caused you to be in such a state. It is quite understandable in this given situation. Molly I first and foremost need to insist on knowing if John is safe."

Having already spent hours pondering and examining as much of the situation as she could on her own Molly was able to shoot of an answer, "Yes. That maybe the only thing I am sure of. Oh and the fact that if she really wanted you to be dead, you would be."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, I threatened her before and I've watched and I do believe she really loves John. I don't think she would have taken my threat too seriously but she doesn't want me to say anything. I think she's more afraid of that than anything."

"What did you mean about me being dead if she wanted me to be?"

"Oh." Molly's eyes got wide as saucers, "Haven't you deduced it?"

"I haven't deduced everything Molly or I wouldn't be in this condition!" Sherlock responded in agaitation.

Molly pushed her lips together and looked at him with reproach before speaking. "I don't know how good she is but she was trained to be an assassin. At the very least she should be able to shoot to kill even if it has been years."

"Who did she work for?"

Molly shook her head and started shaking her foot as her fingers started playing an unknown tune on her crossed arms. The fear had crept back in her eyes. At least this showed Sherlock that the fear was not of Mary herself but from where Molly had come from. He had a vague sense of where Molly had come from but had never fully solved her mystery having decided a long time ago to let it go for her sake. Instead he had helped her bury her secrets.

_The day after Molly had visited Sherlock's room saw them return to their normal routine except for the glances Molly kept throwing Sherlock's way in the middle of her reading. She was angry, there was no doubt about that. However, Sherlock picked up on different cues that also came from her. It seemed as if she sad and wanted to talk with him again. It also seemed as if she wanted to ask him a question. She stood by her silence though and wouldn't give in to either of those feelings._

_Sherlock regretted his choice of words. It wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last time, his words have gotten him in trouble but, the words he had used had triggered something in the girl he continued to study. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she had been used for some kind of experiment. His moral compass may be dubious but experimenting on a living child gave him chills. He had a choice to get high. He enjoyed it as it calmed his mind and made him forget everything for a time. He would hate for is choice to be taken away and wondered how he would respond if his freedoms were taken. He hated it when Mykey intruded and tried to dictate his life. Maybe the girl just needed to have some power in her life._

_On the third day of their silence Molly found a scripted copy of _My Fair Lady _in her room. She flipped through the book and a note fell out. _

You are not an experiment. Perhaps we can do an experiment together instead.—SH

_Molly sought Sherlock out immediately after finding the gift. Sherlock smiled smugly when he saw her come back to the common room. From one look he knew he had been forgiven. It had been so simple and somewhat gratifying if he was honest. She made her way over to him and for the first time sat by him of her own volition._

_She spoke so no one else could hear. "How did you get it?"_

_"I have sources from the outside. I figured if it looks like we are working on a play that deals with speech it won't matter if you butcher the language completely as we try to recreate your accent. People will just assume you are being an abominable Eliza Doolittle."_

_"Thank you. You really are like Henry Higgins. Now all you need is a gentler sidekick to help you talk nice to people. Like an army man like Colonel Pickering."_

_"Don't use like so many times in one sentence Miss Doolittle. A proper lady chooses her words with care."_

_Molly gave him one of her biggest smiles and giggled. Sherlock responded with a sincere smile of his own. The staff was mystified on what was happening but did not want either patient to shut down. They would wait and see if they could cajole them to speak during their group session in the psyche ward. For the moment they enjoyed the peace._

_Sherlock and Molly spent the next few days working on the script but also had some of their own conversations. These took place at times when there were no others within earshot in case Molly's speech patterns were off. Sherlock was delighted to discover that Molly actually understood what she read in _Gray's Anatomy _and decided that she must not be as stupid as most people in the world. He resolved to get more books for her at Mykey's expense._

_"Sherlock?"_

_"Yep," he popped the last letter._

_"Umm…how did you know Molly was close to my actual name?"_

_"Molly is your actual name. As to how I knew your former name…" he signed her name with his hands._

_She looked alarmed. "I forgot I did that. I started so I wouldn't forget who I was," she admitted._

_Sherlock felt uncomfortable as he watched her. He knew he had gotten her trust with that admission but felt…sad for her. He needed to get control over himself. Mycroft always told him sentiment was weakness. He was at war with himself. He finally decided that it would be wisest not to push her or she would spook again. The best thing to do would be to comfort her and build her trust. That wasn't sentiment so it was a safe measure to take._

_"You're safe now." He cleared his throat, maybe it would be okay to push a little. "What happened?" _

_"I don't want to talk about it."_

_"On top of speech lessons you are going to have to start practicing not speaking with your hands."_

_The lessons continued. Molly never mastered not moving her hands about but did become more aware of their movements. It took time and earned exasperation from Sherlock but she finally stopped the unconscious fingerspelling of her name. Sherlock, true to form, acquired books on his favorite subjects for Molly. He learned that while Molly was willing to read those books she did not appreciate it when he took one of her fairy books and replaced it with one of his science books. He even earned a black eye when she literally threw one of his books back in his face. He learned over time what worked with Molly and what didn't._

_One night while she was in bed Molly got the fright of her life. She had never been a heavy sleeper but after her ordeal she became an even lighter sleeper. She woke with a hand over her mouth and she reached for the syringe under her pillow she had nicked when no one was looking. She tried to stab her assailant but stopped when a familiar voice called her name._

_"Sherlock! What the bloody hell are you doing?!"_

_"As impressed I am with your accent that is no language for a lady Miss Doolittle."_

_"I could have killed you with an air embolism if I had pushed the plunger!"_

_"Impressive idea. Fortunately you are not fast or strong enough to carry that out." He took the needle from her shaking hand. He could sense her fear even in the dark of the room. "I'm sorry," Sherlock apologized for the first time in their relationship. "I didn't think you would scare so easy. I forgot that you have experienced a form of trauma that has apparently affected all areas of your life."_

_"I could have hurt you." Molly's voice warbled with emotion._

_Sherlock sat on her bed. He felt uncomfortable as he was sure Molly would shed some tears. He was surprised when after a few moments Molly took a huge breath inward and let it out._

_"Why are you here anyway?"_

_"I'm bored and Tammy is on the desk. We can sneak out and be back before she knows it."_

_He was shocked when he felt a pillow hit him across the face. A second later a small body had knocked over his lanky one and was repeatedly hitting him with a pillow. Molly stopped when she heard footsteps coming towards her room. Sherlock dove off her bed to the side and Molly laid back down breathing heavily. The footsteps kept going past her room. Both kids waited until they no longer heard the footsteps before cracking up._

_"I'll see if the coast is clear and we can go."_

_"Sherlock," Molly whined, "it's sleeping time."_

_"With the adrenaline you have pumping through your veins you won't be sleeping anytime soon."_

_"Fine." Molly huffed, "But from now on you at least warn me. We are not repeating this wake up call."_

_That was the first night Molly experienced sewing up a corpse, or rather re-sewing up a corpse as they only worked on previously dissected bodies to avoid detection. Over time it became a norm and they even broke into a lab to perform experiments. During those times they came up with her backstory. Sherlock talked her into upping her age. He advised against picking a birth date that had sentimental meaning but she won the argument saying she wouldn't be able to remember it otherwise. _

_They were finally caught by a doctor in a bowtie who had mercy on them. He was impressed by their handling and knowledge but less impressed with what he saw as their lack of respect for the dead. Molly of course felt deep remorse as she had lost her parents and was able to earn forgiveness more readily than Sherlock. She even bestowed a nickname on the friendly fellow when she learned of his comical name. Mycroft smoothed over any ruffled feathers in the situation to keep both young people in the program. Sherlock was close to his thirty days and was even attending, if not participating, in the group therapy sessions._

_Sherlock learned from the ventures to the psyche ward why Molly was moved back. Apparently a young Irish boy had taken an interest in tormenting the young girl. They moved her back out of concern for her safety. When the boy approached her telling Molly that he had missed her so much Sherlock ushered her away. He told her that the lad was not worth their time as he was just a run of the mill psychopath. She in turn told Sherlock that the boy had said he was there because he loved puppies too much, that he loved them to death. The boy of course was nonplussed at being dismissed so thoroughly and found he was not pleased with the course of events and fixated on the event. He had taken revenge on a boy who had once laughed at him and he would not be pushed aside so completely._

_Sherlock's thirty days came and went to Mycroft's surprise and delight. Molly watched as Sherlock was reunited with his family members. She had seen Mycroft before but it was the first time for her to see his parents and what could only be another elder brother. She felt a little left out as she saw herself as Sherlock's friend and wasn't introduced. She witnessed their tears and jubilation over Sherlock's reformation. It also reminded her of why he was here in the first place. She could not figure out how he could hurt the people who obviously loved him so much. She took an interest in what they were teaching about addiction at the center from that point on._

_Throughout their misadventures Molly revealed things about herself as she came to trust Sherlock more and more. She seemingly forgot why they were there in the first place as the rehab center became her new world and she began to feel safe for the first time in about three years. Sherlock learned that Molly had been kidnapped along with her mother and that both her parents were now dead. Molly's mother died in captivity and her father died fighting in Desert Storm. Molly's mother had been a scientist and had been developing a new technology that had garnered some interest by the wrong people. Molly had been with her mother at the time of her capture and became an experiment as soon as her mother had died. He never found out the particulars of what that experiment entailed but assumed that it could only include the drugs that had been in her system. He learned why she spoke ASL and what her favorite color was, for some reason he remembered those things. He figured she must have been rescued and delivered here despite how smart Molly may be, she could never have rescued herself from such a situation._

_He also taught her things. Like how to construct a mind palace so that she could store her bad memories in closets even if she could not delete them. She told him that she based her castle on _Howl's Moving Castle,_ this was one of her favorite books and Sherlock reminded her of one of those characters as well. Evidently he reminded her of quite a few fictitious characters, this brought Molly delight and Sherlock disgust. He felt the need to borrow her stories to find the similarities between himself and said characters, he was not amused with whom she chose to compare him. _

_Sherlock stayed a total of three months since the time he was returned. He was given an extra month because he would not complete any work besides staying clean but they finally graduated him as he became more manageable and there was no reason to keep him any longer. Fortunately his student was a quick learner but he was concerned for her as he left. Mykey would scoff if he knew of his brother's concern so he made no mention of his association with the girl to his brother. Sherlock was able to find his way back to the rehab center with a relapse that would bring him back to Molly's side._

"Sherlock, I have never spoken about it. It has been over twenty years and I never once said the words out loud."

"Why didn't you say anything about Mary though?"

Molly relayed Mary's visit to the morgue in detail. "I thought she was different. She did rescue me after all and to be fair…"

"Molly what is it?"

"This isn't my story to tell."

"Don't tell me Mary's story tell me about the organization that held you as a child."

Molly's head was spinning from lack of sleep and thinking of things long hidden in her mind by the same man who was now trying to get a grasp on the woman who had married his best friend. Molly closed her eyes to better concentrate. "She didn't have a choice. None of the recruits did. They took kids who wouldn't be missed and turned them into…soldiers? Assassins? Tools? It was either that or be…deleted." She shuddered at the phrase. "If you weren't good enough, if you rebelled or disagreed, if you," she covered her mouth with her hand and bit back an involuntary sob, "tried to escape or tried to help someone else escape you were deleted."

Sherlock's mind started to fill in the blanks. He reached for Molly's hands. He had hurt her again and didn't know if he could fix it. Molly opened her eyes and looked into his. He could see the unshed tears, "I'm so sorry Molly to have that of you."

Molly felt beyond exhausted.

Sherlock hoped he hadn't broken her. He knew she was strong but even the strongest people could still break. Perhaps she was made of diamond, he heard Mycroft scoff in the back of his mind palace at such a thought. "Molly go home and sleep. Take a cab. Take a few days off I know you have days accumulated and visit your family for a few days. You will need the rest because I'm going to need a nurse after this."

"Sherlock Holmes you are unbelievable! Incorrigible even!" He winked at her. She continued, "You just want me to leave so that you can do something stupid."

"Molly I solemnly swear—"

Molly interrupts him, "that you are up to no good. That's not a newsflash!"

Sherlock was grateful for the banter but looked confused as he missed the reference, "I was going to say that I will be in bed when you get back."

Molly missed the way he worded his promise because she was so tired. "Fine, but I'm going to make sure John checks in on you."

Sherlock would use that to his advantage. Molly turned to go but heard Sherlock clear his throat. She turned and whined, "What is it now? Sherlock, it's sleeping time."

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?"

His cheeks turned pink. "Janine kissed my forehead when she left don't you want to do the same?"

Molly's eyebrows reached her hairline, either she was hallucinating or Sherlock's drugs were affecting him. The third option was that it was both. She felt a blush start in her face but rush over her body. "Sherlock, when you want a girl to kiss you it is bad form to mention the other girl who kissed you before." And with that Molly finally headed home for an overdue rest.

**Thanks for reviews.**


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Molly had only been sleeping for only a few hours when the knocking on her door started. She had listened to Sherlock and gone straight home after their discussion. On her way home she started to think of the things she had meant to ask Sherlock about but had gotten sidetracked from. When Molly arrived home she fed Toby before collapsing on the couch, lab jacket and all.

She was not happy to awaken in such an abrupt manner and would have ignored whoever was at the door but the person was relentless. She crossed to the door and wiped some strands of hair out of her face. She opened the door to a disgruntled detective and an army doctor.

"Is that git here?" John demanded to know once they had entered the apartment and shut the door.

"I'm sorry, what?" Molly asked bewildered, she was not at her best having just woken up.

"Sorry about this Molls but we're looking for Sherlock and you weren't answering your phone." Lestrade was able to deliver his speech in a much calmer tone.

Molly pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger and shut her eyes. She sighed, "I'm going to bloody kill him!"

"Get in line!" John spat out.

"How bout I just help you hide the body?" Molly counter offered.

"Now wait just one minute, we have to actually find him to carry out any of those plans," Greg offered his input. "We're checking all his bolt holes and knowing your relationship with the giant prat we thought perhaps he could be here with you."

"Relationship?" Molly scoffed.

"Well you are his emergency contact and you let him get away with practically anything. I thought perhaps you helped him with a jailbreak and allowed him to stay here instead of at the hospital." Greg explained his previous statement.

"Plus you weren't answering your phone, since you were avoiding talking to anyone we thought—" John was interrupted.

"You thought I was keeping Sherlock's whereabouts secret from you." Molly was tired of dealing with everyone. "First off, I am Sherlock's contact because he put that down years ago and didn't bother to change it, as I explained to you already John. Second, I know that Sherlock needs a hospital and I am not so much of a pushover to allow him to leave. In fact I only left Bart's myself once Sherlock promised me he would be there when I came back. In hindsight I should have paid more attention to his wording. Yes, Sherlock uses my apartment, namely _my _bedroom as a bolt hole," here Molly broke her stride to mumble that they agreed he needed the space but she picked back right up again. "I was not avoiding anyone but I did shut my phone off as I have not slept in days and I am tired. Feel free to search my apartment though if it will make you rest assured that I am not hiding anything from you!"

Both men had the presence of mind not to interrupt Molly's rant. They both looked a little sheepish.

"Molly, we would never think that you were trying to hide anything from us. We're worried, is all."

Molly glared at John, "Don't be so sure Greg."

John was completely taken aback having never experienced Molly's ire before. "Molly I'm sorry. Listen we really should talk but now…" John let the sentence hang.

"Go find him." Molly's tone had become gentler and she sounded defeated. "Have you been by Baker's Street yet?"

"We'll head there next," Greg said reaching for Molly's hand and pulling her close to plant a kiss on her cheek. "Go get some rest. We'll let you know when we find him, yeah?"

"I've decided to go away for a few days. Maybe go see my family. I'll see him when I get back."

John nodded a goodbye to Molly and opened the door. Toby chose that moment to streak out the door. John let out an oath, "Sorry Molly—"

"Just go. It's not the first time he's gotten out. He'll come back when he's ready just like he always does."

"Sherlock or your cat?" Greg was rewarded with a smile from Molly.

"Both, I guess I have a type."

"I've never seen Molly get upset before this week. I witnessed her slapping Sherlock and resolved not to get on her bad side but she didn't even raise her voice then." John lamented to Greg after witnessing they volcanic eruption that was Molly Hooper.

"She's tired mate. Molly's very forgiving and she will probably be the one apologizing after this all blows over. Good for her taking a break. I often worry that she works far too hard. Things must be really bad for her to head home though." Greg smiled, "Wish you had gotten the slapping on video though."

"I didn't think she had it in her to get so angry. I've never seen her like this before."

"I have," confessed Lestrade.

_"Now you sit right there while I go sort this out!" a young angry detective inspector snarled at the unrepentant teen while shoving him into a seat._

_Sherlock grinned and replied in as cocky a tone as he could muster, "Whatever you say Greg."_

_The detective slammed both his hands down on the common room table. "It's Detective Inspector Lestrade to you! You do not get to address me as Greg ever! Do you understand?"_

_"I'll be sure to remember that, _Lestrade." '_Or delete is more like the case' thought Sherlock as he erased the name from his hard drive._

_The detective straightened up and shook his head. "Answer this for me, how does someone with your bloody intelligence end up in a place like this time and time again. It is such a waste. We could use someone like you if you weren't such a bloody prat."_

_"I would never last working at Scotland Yard because it is boring. That's why I end up here. I was B-O-R-E-D. Bored."_

_Lestrade ran his hand through his dark hair. He shook his head again, in sadness now that he had let out his anger at the young man before him. _

_It wasn't Greg's first time bringing Sherlock to the same rehab center but it was the hardest. Sherlock had been doing so much better this past time in rehab. Lestrade had kept tabs on the young man because every time he had been in the back of his car the teen had solved a case. That had been when he was high, Greg could only imagine what Sherlock could do if he was sobered up. Greg had even started handing Sherlock files to get his input when he picked him up. Greg felt somewhat guilty taking the credit but he would not have been able to present the cases as being solved by a drugged kid. _

_Sherlock had made it through the three months of rehab and in less than a week Greg had caught him shooting up. Sherlock didn't even try to play coy and hide it. It was as if he wanted to get caught this time around._

_Greg made his way to the desk and tried to steel himself for what he was about to do. It was never pleasant dealing with the elder Holmes brother. As he tried to get a hold of Sherlock's family he kept an eye on him in case he decided to cause any trouble, it bothered Greg that he hadn't tried to as of yet._

_"Sherlock?" A young girl with reddish hair approached Greg's charge. The girl continued speaking but he could no longer hear what was being said as she had lowered her voice to a whisper. _

_"What have you done? Why are you here again?"_

_"Molly! You'll have to forgive me, I'm a little high," he dramatically whispered the last part of the sentence before breaking off in a fit of giggles._

_Molly slapped him across his face. The action caught the attention of everyone in the room. She raised her hand and slapped him again before switching hands and administering one last slap._

_"How could you?!" Molly cried out in the loudest voice anyone at the center had ever witnessed._

_The slaps and the tone of voice his Molly was using was enough to sober Sherlock out of his happy mood. He used a low tone of voice when he said, "I did it for you."_

_"For me? What would ever make you think I would want you to use drugs for any purpose."_

_Sherlock had a moment of pride as Molly delivered her speech in a near perfect British accent. "You needed me. So I took the drugs to be readmitted." Sherlock was now the one speaking in the hushed tone that Molly had used up until that day._

_"No. I don't need this. No one needs this. You have a family that loves you. And you hurt them each time you end up here. You are killing yourself. If you are that intent on throwing away your life why don't you just jump off a building!" Molly delivered that last speech with tears streaming down her cheeks._

_Sherlock looked on shocked and hurt by her words. He felt the sting of rejection of something he had done for her. He could only watch on as she turned and ran to her room. _

_An aide pursued Molly. The rest of the room had been turned to silence to see such a change in the duo. That was the first time some of the people there had even heard Molly speak. _

_Lestrade looked on in wonder as he saw the young callous genius taken down by the small wisp of a girl. When he reached Sherlock's brother he was told that Mycroft would pay the fine but to just turn Sherlock loose, he was on his own now. _

_Sherlock went missing for a period of time after that. When he turned up at the rehab center out of his own volition he had found that things had changed._

"Really. What was it like when Molly got mad before." John asked the detective.

By this time the men had gotten in the car and were making their way to Baker Street as they continued their conversation.

"Well, they were a lot younger then. But Molly is probably one of the main reasons he is alive today. An addict never ceases to be an addict. He has lapsed at times so it wasn't a miracle situation where a person never used again but after that day in rehab he at least tried to stay away. He even sought my help from time to time."

"I'm sorry rehab? I wasn't aware Molly interned at such a facility."

Greg looked at John and cleared his throat, "Ah…she didn't…"

"Molly? She doesn't seem the type. Granted I didn't think Sherlock was either." John said with a tilt to his head.

"She isn't."

John shook his head, "Now, I'm just lost."

"She was just a little thing. I was surprised she was as old as she was. Sherlock once confessed that the little girl at rehab who gave him the lambasting of his life was the same Molly Hooper. It's been about twenty years so she looks a lot different. He of course told me this right after my divorce was finalized and that I was under no uncertain terms allowed anywhere near Molly as a romantic partner."

"So you're saying our Molly was a child addict."

Greg had always been a bit of a gossip but he finally realized how much of what he said should have been kept private. "Listen, it would be better for both of us if you don't repeat anything I just said. But to keep the facts straight, as far as I know, Molly had no say in the drugs that were forced upon her body."

John looked at Greg with horror. "Should she really be going to see her family if that is the case?"

"Her family she is seeing is her adopted family."

John let the information seep into his mind. He decided to change the topic into something lighter but something that had started to plague his mind lately. "Did they ever…you know…date?"

"Not that I know of. We used to have an office pool but that became centered around a leading man in the more recent past."

John caught the meaning and was not amused. "Mary seems to think that they will be together by the end of the year."

"I know. We recently started our own bet. Sorry mate but I need the money. I got history on my side and that git is married to his work."

"Well, my wife has been trying to convince him to become a bigamist and so far Mary always gets her way."


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Please remember this is my first fanfic. I am sometimes unsure if I am giving too much backstory. Not sure if I oversimplify or give too much. I have the story planned out. Sorry it has taken so much time. I ended up being sicker than I had thought. Thank you for your patience and for reading. It is very appreciated, as are reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Molly had been long overdue for a vacation and finally gave into the encouragement of others to visit her "family". It wasn't that Molly didn't like her family, in fact she adored them, but she didn't feel like she belonged.

Shortly after Molly's outburst at the rehab center with Sherlock, a decision had been made to move her elsewhere. She knew she couldn't stay there forever and with the last appearance of her only friend she knew it was time to go. So started to cooperate with the center's staff and she was moved a group home.

Due to her background she continued to receive counseling weekly. She kept her lies to a minimum so that she could keep track and that her story would remain believable. She was able to blame the "missing" parts of her past on the drugs and most of those working with her assumed that she suffered some memory loss as well as impairments to her growth.

Her main counselor was a jovial man who was a bit on the round side. He had brown hair and blue eyes that twinkled and he tried to get the somber girl to laugh during their sessions together. He wore jumpers and habitually smelled of pipe tobacco. He was sharper than he let on and noticed the inconsistencies between Molly's seeming memory gaps and the sharpness of her mind. He decided the best thing for her would be a stable home environment with parents and siblings, which his own family conveniently had.

Though it was uncommon it was not unheard for some children to end up in the homes of those who worked with the orphaned and foster kids. Especially if that child was deemed to have special needs or to have special circumstances in their lives that would hinder them from living an otherwise "normal" life. There was a process that took place but Molly was welcomed into the family with open arms. Dr. Hooper's wife loved her sons but relished the idea of having a daughter and the boys were old enough that the idea of having a girl in the family was a novelty. So after a time Molly joined the Hooper clan officially.

Molly had been an only child in her previous life. That fact, coupled with her natural social awkwardness tied to a psychological diagnosis received as a child, caused her to be overwhelmed at times by the size of her new family. She now had four older brothers who filled different positions in her life but all became protective forces around their little sister. When she joined the clan the eldest boy was off at uni, the second son was in his final year of high school, and the twins were in the same year of junior high that she was placed into.

Molly's time with Sherlock had prepared her for the most difficult of personalities with his mercurial moods but it did not prepare her for such a carefree family system with warmth and love to spare. So she went about creating Molly Hooper and used her Pygmalion lessons, courtesy of one Sherlock Holmes, to become a chameleon.

It took Molly some time to adjust mostly due to her new surroundings for fear of losing the new family she had acquired. After a time she finally allowed her new family to get as close to her as she could without revealing anything about her past life and was able to move on with their help. She developed relationships with each member on both a family level and a personal level but outside of the family she failed to develop new friendships. It troubled those who came to care for her but she was quite content. She ended up learning to joke (badly), to bake, to play games, and many other activities the family enjoyed together. She was encouraged in her love of learning and was able to have access to her new father's psychological library. When her new mother learned that Molly had a gift for music an electric piano made an appearance in the household as well. Molly had been through hell and somehow ended up in heaven after her travails.

Despite an ideal situation there is always some blemish to help the dreamer to remember that reality exists. For Molly this came in the form of her father's sister. The siblings had different worldviews that often clashed and Molly became the new argument that Cecilia could never let go of. Molly unfortunately overheard more than one conversation calling in the Hooper's decision to fully adopt another child, especially one that she deemed as strange.

Molly often agreed with Aunt Cecilia's point of view, which is why years later she kept her distance from her loving family in the belief that she did not belong. The death of her second beloved father devastated her. The words of her inherited aunt during the time of Mr. Hooper's dying days drove Molly from the family. Molly only indulged in the comfort she could find at her teenage home when things got really bad or she could no longer make excuses to her family about being too busy. So with the admittance and later disappearance of Sherlock and the fact that she hadn't been home in quite a while she decided it was time to give into the many suggestions to see her family.

Her brothers and mum were quite ecstatic about the uncommon visit. Everyone except Molly got together on Sundays for lunch every week after attending church. Molly always thought the family she ended up with belonged in a 1950's television show. Everyone lived within an easy distance of each other. Stevie, one of the twins, was the only one still residing with their mum but everyone else was at the stage of their lives where they were married with kids. In all, the gathering had sixteen people including Aunt Cecilia.

Molly arrived the night before everyone gathered together so once everyone was settled in for the meal she of course became the center of attention with everyone wanting to catch up with the prodigal sister.

"So Molls, how long are you staying in town? It's not often you spend your vacation time with us," Stevie goaded his younger sister.

Molly rolled her eyes, "Actually I just don't take much holiday time off. I like the work." Molly cringed inside as she realized she sounded like Sherlock. Then she mentally chided herself for thinking of the idiot. She then realized she had missed another comment directed her way.

"I'm sorry what was that mum?" Molly said while picking up the fork to take a bite of homemade Shepherd's Pie.

"I said, you will have to be taking time off soon for the wedding. Have you set a date yet?"

Molly blanched and her eyes grew wide while her fork was situated half way in her mouth as she just realized how little she actually communicated with the nice people around her. She slowly took the fork from her mouth, swallowed, and took a sip from her water glass before she answered.

"Can't you see the ring is missing? That is probably the only reason she deigned to visit you in the first place." Aunt Cecilia sniffed with disdain.

"Actually I didn't visit for that reason. We called it off months ago…I just forgot to tell you." Molly looked down at her plate in shame. She added a "sorry" in a small voice.

The members of the gathering exchanged looks excluding Aunt Cecilia. Finally most members looked at Peter, the second oldest brother knowing that he had always been the one to get Molly to open up best. Peter, however, just shook his head. Seeing that Peter would not speak Henry, the oldest of the Hooper boys, saw it as his responsibility to break the awkward silence.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Henry asked.

His wife hit him. "That's just what she wants to do. You idiot. Sorry Molly, but you know your brother is not the most suave."

Molly smiled and was grateful for the interference. "Thanks. Just to keep the record straight it was a mutual agreement. We both decided that we were better as friends."

"You, young lady, don't know a good thing when you have it," Aunt Cecilia sneered at Molly.

"Cecilia!" Molly's mother exclaimed horrified at the treatment her adopted daughter was receiving. She knew that Cecilia had never approved of the adoption but the venom being poured out on Molly was a new low.

Ever since talking with Sherlock in the hospital something had snapped inside of Molly. She had tried to escape to her past home to sort herself out but there was no relief for her. She was so tired and she no longer felt like holding things in.

"Just aiming to be a cat lady just like you Auntie," Molly snarked before shoving a mouthful of food into her mouth.

"Molly!" Her mother was now shocked with Molly's out of character remark.

Everyone at the table was at a loss. Stevie had to cover his mouth with a napkin and turn his laughter into a cough. The three wives looked at each other and smiled, they had also suffered at Cecilia's tongue and were going to support Molly no matter the outcome. The other twin, Rob, dropped his jaw in shock and looked back and forth between the combatants. Henry commented that he would be right back but that someone should check on the kids, who were eating in front of the telly, but there was also some undignified guffawing heard after he left.

Aunt Cecilia looked mortified that someone would dare talk to her in such a manner. "How dare you! Ungrateful child!"

"You have done nothing for me to be grateful for." Molly spat out, "This family has."

"I am a rightful part of this family."

"As is Molly." Peter interceded on his sister's behalf.

Cecilia insisted to continue her onslaught. "Abominable girl, no social graces."

"I have Asperger's. What's your excuse? Well, actually it's high functioning autism due to the change in the new DSM handbook." Molly looked at her aunt with her eyebrow cocked.

The last phrase shut everyone's mouth. Molly's Asperger's was not something commonly talked about since she was high on the autism spectrum. Her social cues were sometimes off but for the most part she functioned the same as everyone else. Brilliancy and mental conditions often went hand in hand and Molly followed this mold. She wasn't Rain Man but she had her gifts and quirks.

Molly gave her best post Henry Higgins Eliza Doolittle impression, "I do apologize for my disgraceful behavior and for spoiling such a lovely party. I do believe I'll take a turn about the park to get some air."

She excused herself as she heard her aunt make exclamations and heard several chairs scrape back. She also heard her family coming to her defense and wondered if her mum was going to come to ripping out her aunt's hair. Molly ran out the door and headed for the park close to the house.

Once she reached the park she sat down on the swings. Her head was reeling but she knew it was only a matter of time until Peter came to check on her. She wasn't disappointed when fifteen minutes later he sat on the next swing over. She looked up at him. Their eyes met and they made a few faces at each other to convey their feelings.

"So…." Peter nodded his head slowly.

"Yeah," agreed Molly.

"Sorry, it's Sunday dinner. We couldn't revoke her invitation."

"Of course not. I wouldn't expect you to. Plus, she is right you know."

"About what?"

"She's a rightful part of the family and I'm-"

"Playing the victim."

"I am not!"

"You are a part of this family whether or not you decide to visit us or not. You shouldn't listen to that crazy old lady. Sorry if we didn't protect you from her enough."

"You don't need to protect me. I just lost it. Things had been a little rough lately and I'm tired of taking people's crap."

"This wouldn't have to do with a detective that returned from the dead would it?"

Molly glared at her brother for knowing her too well.

"Is he why you broke it off with Tom?"

Molly sighed, "We broke it off mutually. I was only with him because of Sherlock in the first place." It wasn't a lie.

They sat in silence for a while. "He got shot this week." Molly confessed.

"Tom?"

"No," Molly scoffed, "Sherlock."

"Ah. Thus the visit."

"Sorry, I'm a horrible human being."

"No you aren't Molls. We miss you and we are always here for you no matter what. It would be refreshing to see you more often. So how is he?"

"His heart stopped. He was declared dead. Then he decided it was a good idea to run away from the hospital shortly after he came out of his coma. He drives me absolutely nuts. I can't decide if I love him or if I hate him"

"You know we would be willing to visit in London…" Peter let the statement hang in the air.

Molly made a face. She didn't want her family life to mix with her other life. It sounded too messy to her.

"You know I may just have to come to London invite or no. I need to meet this infamous Mr. Holmes."

"Leave it be Petey. Maybe after Christmas. Now is not the best time to visit."

"You do realize that is half a year from now?"

"It's a busy season."

Peter wrinkled his nose before shaking his head. "You coming home for Christmas or are you spending it with Sherlock again now that he's back and Tom is gone."

Molly could never let Peter meet Sherlock or the whole family would know she lied about holidays. "I should be able to come this year but there will need to be interference run between me and Lady Catherine de Bourgh."

"She is that bad isn't she. She should be gone now if you want to head back."

"I think I need to just stay here for a bit to think."

Her brother started to walk off before turning around, "You love him, it's obvious to everyone." Molly blushed at her brother's statement.

"Yeah, but you know enough about psychology and enough about me to know it wouldn't be a healthy relationship."

"Things don't have to be perfect you know. Love and life are messy."

"Doesn't matter anyway. Sherlock is not interested in a relationship of any sort. So I will be messy by myself."

"You don't want to end up alone like Aunt Cecilia. Don't become her Molls."

"Then who should I become?"

"Just be yourself and let others in. You are loved Molly Hooper." Peter walked off and left Molly to think on her own.

"But who am I?" Molly asked the air as a tear ran down her cheek.

**Another promise of Sherlock appearance in the next chapter!**


End file.
